There are many types of animals present in Illinois today. Compared
to dinosaur times, today's larger animals are not very big.
White tail deer are the largest animals found in Illinois, weighing
up to several hundred pounds.
There are several ecosystems in Illinois, with different types of animals
found in each one. Ecosystems include forests, farmland, prairies, wetlands,
lakes, urban areas, and rivers.
Many animals that live in Illinois today do well if they like habitat
that is a mixture of short vegetation, brushy areas, and small areas
of timber. Cottontail rabbits and white tailed deer are two examples
of animals that use several types of vegetation for food and shelter.
Most native(natural) ecosystems in Illinois are very small compared
to what they were several hundred years ago. Prairie areas make up less
than one percent of their original area in the state and can only be
found in very small plots. The number of wetland ecosystems is also
less. There is much less of the state in woodland compared to 150 years
ago, but there is more woodland today than in the 1930's.
Agricultural areas make up a large portion of the state. Farmland ecosystem
dwellers, such as rabbits, must use cropland, fence rows, and timber
that may be next to cropland for food or shelter.
When prairies, wetlands, and forests have been changed to farmland,
a new ecosystem has been formed. As with other types of ecosystem changes
that have occurred, animals had to adapt or move. If they could not
do either one, they died out.
Ecosystems are constantly changing, and what may be found in Illinois
in a thousand years will likely be much different than now.
These changes may be caused by a combination of environmental and human
factors. Environmental factors may include changes in climate or soils.
Human factors may include changing the amount of native vegetation growing,
or changes in farming practices.
This does not mean that changes caused by humans will always be bad.
Those who have knowledge of how ecosystems work, and make wise decisions
from that knowledge, may actually make things better for both humans
AND animals.
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