Published July 31, 2018 02:36PM

'Heather Paul'
As recently as the late ’80s, river otters were barely hanging on in Illinois, with fewer than 100 living in just two populations. But after the Department of Natural Resources started a reintroduction program in 1994, the population has rebounded to about 30,000 animals living in every county (including Cook). Check out the rest of the story here.