Take a look a these great shots of rare wildlife in Monroe County our readers sent in last week:

The eastern Illinois town of Olney is very well-known for its white squirrels, but they are a rarity in this area. Donna Mehaffey of Columbia took a picture of this baby white squirrel seen in her yard on Thursday afternoon. Pictured is a little blue heron photographed Tuesday by John Rendleman near New Hanover. Little blue heron are less common in Illinois than their much larger cousin, the great blue heron. “They’re also quite a bit bluer,” Rendleman said.