Why are there so many long-eared owls showing up in Chicago this winter? Bird watchers call it an “irruption.”

Over the course of its history, the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum has amassed a collection of about 390,000 animal specimens and artifacts. We get a close look at five of these rarely seen items.

Thanks to a new state law, officers partnered with a police dog are first in line to keep the dog once it is deemed no longer fit for service.

The newborn female Bornean orangutan joins five other orangutans living at the Brookfield Zoo.

There are many Christmas traditions, but one that is especially beloved by people who love birds is the annual Christmas Bird Count. Learn more.

Next time you see a squirrel, take a picture. That photo, along with additional location and observation data, can help Chicago researchers better understand the local urban ecosystem.

What happens when a lion gets a toothache? Meet the large and dedicated team that cares for more than 3,000 animals at Brookfield Zoo. 

The newest resident of the Lincoln Park Zoo weighs 1,000 pounds and stands 9 feet tall. Meet Siku, a 6-year-old polar bear.

From service dogs to household companions, a new book looks inside the complex world of a dog’s nose.

About 20 million years ago, a 13-foot predator swam in warm, shallow seas across the globe. This extinct shark was recently discovered by an international team of researchers led by a DePaul University professor.

Thanks to an inquisitive Field Museum researcher, a nearly 40-million-year-old fossil housed at the institution has been identified as one of the earliest relatives of dogs, bears and foxes known as a beardog. 

In Chicago and surrounding counties, where reports of nearly 40 cases of rabies-infected bats have made headlines so far this year, the reputation of the small, winged creature seems bleak.

The Cook County Department of Animal and Rabies Control is urging pet owners to vaccinate their cats, dogs and ferrets against rabies after two outdoor cats tested positive for the virus in Illinois and Missouri.

The eastern massasauga rattlesnake, also known as the “swamp rattler,” produces venom more toxic than most other rattlesnakes.

The Shedd Aquarium is calling on President Barack Obama to sign legislation that aims to curb the highly lucrative, international business of illegally trading endangered and threatened animals.

The Lincoln Park Zoo gave journalists a sneak peek of the new African penguin exhibit, which aims to replicate the birds' natural habitat in southern Africa.