Spring serves as mating season for all sorts of animals found in Illinois, but no creature goes about it quite like the wood frog.

We meet some rare and remarkable critters that are part of this weekend’s annual Reptile Fest.

The 50-year-old gorilla was the zoo’s oldest animal. “Knowing it’s the right decision doesn’t make it hurt any less,” said Amy Roberts, curator of mammals for the Chicago Zoological Society.

On Feb. 10, Lincoln Park Zoo welcomed a new baby bird, the first African penguin chick hatched and reared at the zoo's new penguin habitat. 

Here’s something that might surprise you: The best place in the entire state of Illinois to see birds during their spring migration is in the city of Chicago. 

Three years after they began installing bat houses along waterways in Cook County, conservationists are hoping the bats will start moving in this year.

Despite the early April snow showers, a recent bird sighting in Cook County is a strong sign that warmer spring weather is just around the corner.

There are 3,149 different types of plants in the Chicago region. A massive new book details every single one.

One year after welcoming its first baby reindeer in nearly four decades, Brookfield Zoo added another newborn fawn this week.

For the first time, Shedd Aquarium will host a full week of events leading up to Earth Day on April 22. 

A camera set up near Rosehill Cemetery captured an unusual photo of a flying squirrel last fall, but the image was only recently discovered.

The grocery store chain released more details this week about its plans to phase out a practice that animal welfare advocates consider inhumane. 

The yet-to-be-named chick is healthy and being hand-reared by animal care staff, the zoo said this week.

St. Patrick’s Day festivities kicked off a day early at Brookfield Zoo last week, where seals, camels, lemurs, orangutans and gorillas got shamrock-shaped and green-colored treats.

The 14-year-old female polar bear who recently arrived in Chicago is expected to mate with 8-year-old Siku, who has lived at the zoo since 2016. 

From kindergartners to college professors, citizen scientists helped Field Museum researchers examine more than 100,000 plant samples that could hold clues to key scientific questions.