The Trump administration’s move to effectively weaken protections under the landmark law could have stark consequences for the 480 plant and animal species classified as endangered or threatened within Illinois.
Endangered Species
Under the enforcement changes, officials for the first time will be able to publicly attach a cost to saving an animal or plant. Blanket protections for creatures newly listed as threatened will be removed.
It’s been a rough few decades for the rusty patched bumblebee. Once widespread in Illinois and throughout much of the U.S., the species has lost nearly 90% of its population over the past 20 years.
From rare blind salamanders to adorable red wolf pups, here’s our guide to the newest and most unique animals to visit in and around Chicago.
After 15 months of pregnancy, Lincoln Park Zoo rhinoceros Kapuki gave birth to a new calf Sunday. And just 53 minutes after birth, it was able to stand up on all four legs.
Mother’s Day was extra special for Rollie, a western lowland gorilla at Lincoln Park Zoo who gave birth to a male last weekend.
The cubs’ arrival – the first litter born at the zoo since 2010 – is a bright spot for one of the world’s most endangered wolf species.
Pair of Brookfield Polar Bears Involved in Artificial Insemination
Hudson, a 1,000-pound male polar bear at Brookfield Zoo, underwent a historic checkup this week when he received a CT scan and had semen collected, which was used to inseminate two female polar bears.
A pair of bills would strip the state of its authority to regulate endangered species that are protected at the federal level but that might require further protections within Illinois.
Kapuki, a 13-year-old eastern black rhinoceros, is expected to give birth to a baby calf in May.
Mining for coltan, a mineral compound used to make cellphones and other small electronics, has displaced large numbers of Eastern gorillas in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The complex and relatively advanced cultures of chimpanzees are disappearing as human beings encroach on previously undisturbed areas of African forest, according to a new study involving researchers from Lincoln Park Zoo.
Researchers estimate that more than one million pangolins have been taken from the wild over the past decade as demand has soared for their meat and scales. What one local institution is doing to save these scaly anteaters.
A rare yellow-hued Blanding’s turtle who called Chicago home has moved out to the suburbs, where she’s helping to spread the word about the plight of her endangered species throughout Illinois.
Zoo officials say they’re hopeful that 2-year-old Ela and newcomer Apache, 7, will have a successful breeding season this winter and produce a litter of wolf pups in the spring.
Conservationists from around the world are gathering this week to focus on saving threatened species and reintroducing them into the wild.