Smile Politely

Important area wild animal updates

An emu in the middle of a large, barren field.
Parker Acton

Punxsutawney may have their famous groundhog, but here in Central Illinois(ish) we have an emu, a serval, and now a bobcat.

There were a lot of developments on the wild animals living among us front this week. First, after below zero temperatures, snow, and ice, we now have confirmation that our friend The Emu is still alive and roaming Vermillion County. Praise be and bless its heart. Did you know that there is a local Facebook group dedicated to keeping up with its whereabouts? Well now you do.

Remember the serval? Back in October I learned that this was an animal that existed in the world, and that a person could also just own one. An Illinois rep is trying to make this not be so, probably because this serval’s person left the door open and it escaped. Well, we can all rest easy after this update from the Decautar Herald & Review. Reese the serval is now living comfortably at the Exotic Feline Rescue Center in Center Point, Indiana, run by a man named Joe who is not the Joe from Tiger King.

Finally, there was a new wild animal development this week, when a bobcat was spotted running around in Vermillion County, Indiana, which borders our Vermillion County. Unlike the other two animals, bobcats are native to North America, including Illinois. 

What will be next? Back in 2017 it was an armadillo, so you just never know. Anyone know what became of that armadillo?

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