Birds
State bird of Illinois
Northern cardinal
R.I.P. this Cincinnati gorilla (1999-2016)
Harambe
Illinois zoo famous for its black-crowned night heron breeding colony
Lincoln Park Zoo
Highly invasive woodland plant species that IWCC has helped remove with the Champaign County Forest Preserve
(Amur/Bush) Honeysuckle
First Tuesday after the first Monday in November, during even years (also yesterday)
Election Day
Fastest animal in the world
Peregrine falcon
Abandoned Japanese macaque baby famous for his stuffed orangutan toy, 2025
Punch
Not exactly a zoo, IWCC went here on our last trip
Wildlife Prairie Park
Campus sustainability program that reduces weekend energy consumption with teams of volunteers, including IWCC
Illini Lights Out
Mexican holiday honoring the dead celebrated during the first two days of November
Día de los Muertos
UIUC professor researching the evolution of complex phenotypes in birds, presenting to IWCC today
Dr. Eric Gulson-Custillo
Moo Deng
Organization that works to approve zoos and ensure animal wellbeing
Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA)
University of Wisconsin professor who wrote A Sand County Almanac and its Land Ethic
Aldo Leopold
November holiday marking the end of World War I, 11/11
Veterans Day
Australian bird that terrorized central Illinois for almost two years before being captured
Emu
2026 Seattle raccoon with short spine syndrome
Jimothy
America's oldest zoo, opened in 1874
Philadelphia Zoo
The only National Wild and Scenic River in Illinois
Vermilion River
Components of the meal in A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (name at least 3, +100 points if all 5 can be named without mistakes)
Popcorn, toast, pretzel sticks, jelly beans, ice cream sundaes
Type of bird whose tongue wraps around its skull
Woodpecker
1969 chimpanzee that was the first ape to go to space
Ham
The word zoo is actually short for this
Zoological garden
The Environmental Protection Agency was founded during this year
1970
Year of the first Thanksgiving
1621 OR 1623 (debated)