you think of Illinois, a wildlife, probably deer, raccoons, skunks.

>> Come to mind surprise.

You can add armadillo to that list.

Michelle mammals have been working their way north from Texas for more than a century.

And they have already been spotted in southern Illinois and they reportedly have their sights set on the bright lights.

Big city of Chicago are petty.

Wet Lee is joining joining now to give us those details.

Patty.

So we tend to associate armadillos with places like Mexico, Texas.

What are they doing in Illinois?

You know, ever since they arrived in Texas in roughly the 18 50's or what's now Texas, they have just continued to consistently.

It slowly move their way north.

And a lot of that has to do with climate change.

>> You know, this is an animal that doesn't hibernate doesn't like the cold.

Thanks for its food in the ground, but there's less and less snow cover and the winters are getting warmer.

So it's just kind of creeping up along with warmer winters, short legs, but they move quickly home because there's some evidence that they may have migrated as close as Kankakee.

What do we know about scientists at the field museum a couple years ago took a sample of water, analyzed the environmental DNA within that water from the Kankakee River.

And lo and behold, she was surprised to find armadillo.

Dna sequence turned up just a smidge under what she would consider 100% confidence.

But there was evidence of the armadillo there.

So, you know, they're here.

They're here research to be done on that.

I'm sure another scientists that you spoke with the field museum said on Monday lows could appear in Chicago within the next 5 to 10 How might their presence disrupt the local ecosystem?

And yes, scientists are saying, you know, it's not a matter of if they show up.

It's when.

>> And the short answer is we don't know how they're going to affect the local ecosystem.

That's where they're kind of trying to get a baseline.

Now.

And they're asking people in central and northern Illinois to report their sightings.

So we want to know what's the status of certain species of birds now and then what happens when armadillos come along and maybe start disrupting the nest that they have on the ground when they start competing with reckons for resources, they don't really have predators here that we know of at least as long as Jaguars.

Stay south.

So, you know, we don't really know they're not supposed to be here.

We don't know what their impact will be, OK, so it sounds like we should probably get used to seeing them want what should we know about them?

Well, there are about the size of a cat.

So if you see a giant armadillo online, which is about the size of me, that is not the ones that were expecting here.

The only species in North America is the 9 banded armadillo.

That was when you get like 9 flexible bands, kind of like a bendy straw that allows it to bend does not roll up into a complete ball.

Only the 3 banded do that.

And mamas out there will be interested to know that have and to go quadruplets every Every Every have, they reproduce.

It's a identical quadruplets, little armadillo babies.

Patty, what we thank you so Thanks.

Prentice.

And you can read patties full