Critters
April 9, 2024
Beware the Handstand of the Spotted Skunk
When provoked, it springs off its hind legs like a tiny Simone Biles.
Critters
Stories and updates on some of the state’s many animals
Latest
1-50 of 416 Articles
Critters
April 5, 2024
Undiscovered Insects Lurk in Plain Sight Across Texas. Meet the Newest: The Houston Tiger Beetle.
The jewel-toned bug may have been found just in time to save it, said Rice University biologist Scott Egan.
Critters
April 1, 2024
Teacup Javelinas Are Texas’s Adorable (and Feisty) New Pet Trend
Move over, teacup pigs—there’s a new teensy squealer on the market.
Critters
March 18, 2024
Great White Sharks Would Like the Gulf of Mexico Back, Please
With a massive great white shark’s recent record-setting trip to South Padre Island, an overfished (and fear-inducing) species is reclaiming its historic range.
Critters
March 15, 2024
How to Attract the Charming Hummingbird Moth to Your Yard
Hint: Leave those leaves alone!
Critters
March 13, 2024
How Some of Texas’s Most Terrifying Species Are Inspiring Engineers
Fire ants and carnivorous plants are among the tenacious flora and fauna researchers are looking to for inspiration.
Critters
March 8, 2024
Big Oil vs. a Little West Texas Lizard
Texas A&M herpetologist Lee Fitzgerald has been documenting the lizard’s decline in the Permian Basin since 1993. He's battling much of the oil and gas industry to get it listed as endangered.
Best Thing in Texas
March 7, 2024
A Rare “Lost Bird” Was Feared Extinct. Texas Scientists Just Found It in the Congo.
The yellow-crested helmetshrike hadn’t been seen in decades—and it wasn't the only little-known species spotted by a UT–El Paso team.
Critters
March 6, 2024
This Texas Photographer Turns Dead Animals Into Poignant Portraits
Amanda Stronza pulls over to document coyotes, deer, and squirrels killed along highways.
Critters
March 4, 2024
Why a Rare Underwater Worm May Be Key to Saving Baffin Bay
Marine scientists are trying to save reef-building serpulid worms, which keep fish (and anglers) coming. Can they resurrect the reef in time?
Critters
February 28, 2024
Africa’s Smallest and Deadliest Wildcat Is Making a Comeback in Texas
Thirteen black-footed cats have been born at Fossil Rim Wildlife Center, in Glen Rose. The felines weigh barely four pounds, but watch out: they’re killers.
Critters
February 21, 2024
Hard Freezes Are Killing Texas Bats
Tens of thousands of Texas bats have died from freezes since 2021. It could take decades for the population to recover.
Critters
February 20, 2024
Meet the Beetles on Graham Reynolds’s New Album Celebrating the Sounds of Insects
The composer worked with Texas scientists to draw attention to both the beauty of arthropods and the threats they face.
Critters
February 16, 2024
The Lovable Ocelot Is Ready for Its Comeback
The phantom feline of South Texas is ready for its comeback.
Critters
February 15, 2024
Nutria Deserve Their Reputation as Giant, Nasty Swamp Rats
Found in waterways across Texas, the invasive rodents destroy an estimated $1 million worth of U.S. crops per year.
Critters
February 1, 2024
Timothy, the San Antonio Zoo’s Star Hippo, Now Has His Own Poop-Scented Candle
We smelled it so you don’t have to.
Critters
January 19, 2024
Do Not Underestimate the Elf Owl
The world’s smallest owl is a swift, acrobatic hunter whose victims never hear it coming.
Critters
January 19, 2024
Hell on 42 Legs: Get to Know the Texas Redheaded Centipede!
This too-long, venomous creature can be found all over the state. Check your beds!
Critters
January 9, 2024
Kestrels Are Disappearing. Here’s Where to See These “Small but Fierce” Falcons in Texas.
They flock to our state every winter and are a joy to watch.
Critters
December 21, 2023
Short Ears, Big Wings, Can’t Lose
Short-eared owls are disappearing along with the Texas prairie. But for now, they’re putting on a show outside Manor.
Critters
December 20, 2023
Our Top Ten Texas Critters of the Year
On the fifth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me . . . five feral hogs?
Critters
December 6, 2023
Why We’re Seeing More Green Jays Across South Texas
This tropical beauty is expanding its range beyond the Lower Rio Grande Valley.
Critters
December 4, 2023
The G.O.A.T. of Landscape Management? Goats.
In cities across Texas, rugged ruminants are chowing down on the plants that plague us.
Critters
November 20, 2023
Texas Birders Are Cuckoo for the Cattle Tyrant, Never Before Seen in North America
Folks are flocking to Corpus Christi to see the little yellow flier, which may have blown 2,600 miles off-course in a storm.
Critters
November 15, 2023
Behold the Biggest Beetles in Texas (and Their Creepy Larvae)
Ounce for ounce, rhinoceros beetles are among the strongest animals on earth.
Best Thing in Texas
November 14, 2023
A Guy in Grapevine Had the Best Hike Ever: He Discovered a New Dinosaur.
Roughly the weight of a standard schnauzer, the plant-eating dino roamed North Texas 96 million years ago.
Critters
November 10, 2023
Beware the Toxic Trait of the Eastern Newt
The diminutive swamp dragon of the Piney Woods has a fascinating life cycle. Just don’t eat one.
Critters
November 10, 2023
The Exotic Wildlife Trade Is Thriving in Texas
Investigators are finding new ways to catch smugglers, but high demand from China, weak laws, and cartel involvement are making enforcement harder than ever.
Critters
November 8, 2023
The Texas Indigo Snake Eats Rattlers for Breakfast
That’s why farmers and ranchers consider it a friend.
True Crime
November 7, 2023
The Great Cajun Turtle Heist
Alligator snapping turtle populations in Texas were dwindling. One family of smugglers had been poaching them from the state for years.
Critters
October 25, 2023
This Texas Scientist Trains Dogs to Sniff Out Invasive Species
Nathaniel Hall’s canines can also find pollutants and agricultural pests.
Critters
October 13, 2023
The Ghost-Faced Bat Is So Ugly It’s Cute
Found along Texas’s southwestern border, the creature has a mug only a mother could love.
Working Life
October 10, 2023
A North Texas Couple Turns Creepy-crawlies Into Works of Art
Butterfly wings, tarantula legs, and “Frankenstein” beetles—the insect taxidermists of Pinned Ptera find the beauty in it all.
Critters
October 3, 2023
Why Are So Many Tortoises on the Loose in Texas?
They’re hard-shelled escape artists—and faster than you think.
Critters
September 8, 2023
Meet Texas’s Strangest Turtle
Found in the state’s riverways, the spiny softshell looks like a cross between a brontosaurus and a pancake.
Best Thing in Texas
September 6, 2023
Tallyho to Tally the Texas Sea Turtle, Whose 4,000-Mile Journey Has a Happy Ending
After washing up on the coast of Wales, she was nursed back to health, flown home to Texas, and then released in Galveston.
Best Thing in Texas
August 30, 2023
Four Rare Baby Crocodilians Just Hatched at the Fort Worth Zoo
Congrats to new parents Raani, Snaggle, and Big Boy—and the zookeepers who worked for years to help bring their toothy babies into being.
Critters
August 29, 2023
Whale Sharks Near Texas? A Rare Sighting Thrills Anglers and Scientists
The world’s biggest fish swims in the Gulf, but much about it remains a mystery.
Critters
August 9, 2023
Swimmers, Beware the Texas Toe-Biter
I recently had a terrifying run-in with one in a West Texas stock tank.
Travel
August 9, 2023
Swing by Texas’s Smallest State Park to See Three Million Bats Soar From an Old Railroad Tunnel
Austin’s urban bat colony has nothing on this.
Critters
August 7, 2023
One of the World’s Rarest Whales Swims off the Texas Coast. Only About Fifty Are Left.
Just as scientists begin to understand the Rice’s whale, environmentalists contend in a lawsuit that it may be threatened by a proposed offshore oil terminal.
Critters
July 25, 2023
Emerald Ash Borers Are Decimating Texas Trees. Wasps Might Help Defeat Them.
As the invasive beetle carves a path through Texas, state and federal officials are searching for solutions.
Critters
July 23, 2023
My Search for the Snow Monkeys of South Texas
In the half-century since a troop of Japanese macaques arrived in Texas, a truly wild tale has played out.
Critters
July 14, 2023
The Blue Button Jellyfish Washing Up on Our Beaches Aren’t Jellyfish at All
They’re colonies of tiny creatures that drift with the tides.
Critters
July 6, 2023
The Surprisingly Sinister History Behind Texas’s Cliff Chirping Frog
It’s named for frontier naturalist Gabriel Marnoch, who led a life of crime while discovering new species.
Critters
June 14, 2023
All Hail Hardhead Catfish Dads, Which Protect Eggs by Carrying Them in Their Mouths
Anglers love to hate this slimy Texas fish, but its parental skills are unmatched.
Critters
June 13, 2023
Are Texas Fireflies Okay?
Our backyards don't seem to be lighting up like they used to.
Critters
June 7, 2023
The Grackle and the Tennis Ball: A Love Story
It’s, uh, kind of X-rated.
Critters
May 31, 2023
All Hail the Alligator Gar, a Giant and Primordial River Monster
Anglers used to dismiss it as a “trash fish.” Now fishermen (and scientists) are recognizing the gar for the amazing creature it is.
Critters
May 30, 2023
The Hell Pig, the Texas Titanosaur, and Seven Other Outlandish Beasts That Once Roamed Big Bend
West Texas is home to some of the world's most spectacular fossils, from the gentle moose camel to the fearsome tusked swamp beast.