DeKalb is home to squirrels, raccoons and the occasional loggerhead shrike.

According to the Illinois National Heritage Database, DeKalb County is home to eight species of threatened and endangered animals, including the loggerhead shrike, a type of bird spotted in 1994.

Along with the loggerhead shrike, threatened species in DeKalb include the slipper shell, a type of snail; Blanding’s turtle; gravel chub, a type of fish; Iowa darter, a type of fish; and dog violet, a type of flower.

Endangered species include the woolly milkweed, a type of flower, and the red-berried elder, a type of shrub with flowers.

Peggy Doty, Natural Resources Educator for the University of Illinois Extension program, said certain plants like the woolly milkweed and the red-berried elder are endangered because animals feed on them.

“Animals are not the only ones threatened and endangered, but people forget that plants are too,” Doty said. “Because they provide food for animals, it puts their survival in danger.”

With migratory birds like the loggerhead shrike, they are usually rare or endangered from another area.

“The birds are not indigenous, but just traveling through,” Doty said. “They are rare because of a specific habitat needed at the time.”

Kathy Stelford, the director of Oaken Acres Wildlife Center in Sycamore, said some people buy threatened animals illegally and release them into the area.

“People buy and release animals because they don’t have the right habitat for their survival, and they realize how hard taking care of them is,” Stelford said. “An example is the alligator found in the lagoon in the Kishwaukee River over the summer.”

But no private party is legally allowed to be in possession of any endangered animal, even if it is injured. An individual is not allowed to keep threatened or endangered animals as pets without a license, and must call Wildlife Rehabilitation if the animal is injured, Stelford said.

“To legally own a threatened or endangered animal, a license must be obtained from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources or from the Federal Fish and Wildlife Department,” Stelford said. “But they are extremely difficult to get.”

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