BHC’s Beloved Undomesticated Pets

The first animal I’d like to talk about is the white-tailed deer, Odocoileus virginianus. These furry friends are the state mammal of Illinois and our only native deer as well. White-tailed deer have the capabilities to jump eight feet high or thirty feet in length. Our local herbivore also holds the place as Illinois’ biggest herbivore. In addition to these fun facts, white-tailed deer are matriarchal. This means that deer family groups consist of an adult female, her fawns and the female young from the previous year (like what I have caught in photographs on the Black Hawk College Quad-Cities Campus near Buildings 3 and 4).

Another interesting critter residing alongside us as we learn and grow at Black Hawk College is the barred owl, Strix varia. The barred owl is one of several native owls to Illinois. The barred owl doesn’t migrate as well, so if you see one, you’re likely walking through its territory! A territory in which it hunts small animals like squirrels, chipmunks, mice, voles, rabbits, birds, amphibians, reptiles, fish and invertebrates. Pairs of barred owls probably mate for life, raising a brood of one to five eggs every year. This photo is from the window of the art studio in Building 4.

The next animal that graces Black Hawk College with its beauty is the northern cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis. Illinois claims the northern cardinal as its state bird, as do Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia and West Virginia. With its iconic red feathers, you would be pressed to find a person who couldn’t identify a cardinal. The northern cardinal is another bird that doesn’t migrate, which means that, even when it snows, the cardinal will probably make it to class at Black Hawk College.

The final highlight of Black Hawk College’s “pets we can’t pet” is the red fox, Vulpes vulpes. Red foxes are the only residential mammal in Illinois with a rusty red coat. In addition to their red phase, they have three other color phases: melanistic, silver and cross (which are rarer to spot). Red foxes are monogamous and raise a litter of four to ten kits, baby foxes, a year. They breed early in the year, around January or February, so it may be possible that I caught a mother or father fox on its way back to its den and kits when I took this photo in February.