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.
By Rose Cahalan![Rose Cahalan's Profile Photo]()
Critters
Stories and updates on some of the state’s many animals
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1-50 of 395 Articles
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.
By Rose Cahalan![Rose Cahalan's Profile Photo]()
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.
By Rose Cahalan![Rose Cahalan's Profile Photo]()
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.
As told to Josh Alvarez![Josh Alvarez's Profile Photo]()
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.
By Rose Cahalan![Rose Cahalan's Profile Photo]()
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.
By Dan Solomon![Dan Solomon's Profile Photo]()
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.
By Sarah Bird![Sarah Bird's Profile Photo]()
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
We Salute 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.
Critters
May 29, 2023
In Wichita Falls, Airport Officials Are Waging War on Egrets
It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s a bird crashing into a plane!
Critters
May 23, 2023
In Pursuit of Texas’s Rarest Bird, the Attwater’s Prairie Chicken
Fewer than 200 of the birds remain in the wild. Every spring, they put on a vibrant mating display.
Critters
May 22, 2023
Turkey Trouble in Sun City
Aggressive birds are ruffling feathers in an over-55 Georgetown neighborhood. Residents have fended off the gobblers with decorative pillows and golf clubs.
Texas Country Reporter
May 19, 2023
Release the ‘Toads’! A San Antonio Zoo Program Aims to Restore the Texas Horned Lizard Population
Dr. Andy Glusenkamp of the zoo's Center for Conservation & Research leads volunteers in a hands-on experience to preserve the beloved state reptile.
Critters
May 18, 2023
Meet Your New Nightmare, the Hammerhead Worm
If you try to kill it with a shovel, it’ll just split into two.
By Rose Cahalan![Rose Cahalan's Profile Photo]()
Best Thing in Texas
May 11, 2023
We Salute Buddy Holly, Westminster’s Prizewinning Pup (and an Honorary Texan)
He's from California, but we're still proud of him and his namesake.
By Dan Solomon![Dan Solomon's Profile Photo]()
Critters
May 9, 2023
Definitely Don’t Touch the “Blue Sea Dragons” Washing Up on Texas Beaches
This bizarre species has a more potent sting than a Portuguese man-of-war.
Critters
April 24, 2023
Move Over, Snake Farm: Reptilandia Is the Hill Country’s Classy New Reptile Zoo
Ghostly axolotls float, sausage-fat skinks dive, and snakes slither in thoughtfully designed, naturalistic habitats at the new Johnson City zoo.
Critters
April 18, 2023
The Ringtail Is Texas’s Nighttime Ninja
Count yourself lucky if you catch a glimpse of this common but shy nocturnal mammal.
Critters
April 10, 2023
Apocalypse Sow: Can Anything Stop the Feral Hog Invasion?
They’ve overrun nearly the entire state, causing hundreds of millions of dollars in damage annually in spite of widespread attempts at eradication—including traps, contraceptives, and a heavily armed Ted Nugent.
Critters
April 6, 2023
Purple Martins Are on the Wing in Texas
The majestic birds nest only in houses built by human “landlords.”
Critters
April 4, 2023
It’s Hummingbird Season in Texas. Here’s How to Bring Them to Your Yard.
The tiniest of Texas birds are also some of the most marvelous, reaching speeds of up to fifty miles per hour.
Critters
April 3, 2023
All the Ways Ben the Bear Is Plotting to Bust Out of the Brownsville Zoo
A serial escape artist, he’s coming to Texas after the Saint Louis Zoo couldn’t handle his wily ways.
Art
March 31, 2023
A Fine-Art Photographer in Beaumont Focuses on the Beauty of Bugs
Lyne Raff gets up close and personal with moths, cicadas, and other intricate insects.
Critters
March 28, 2023
UT Scientists Discovered a Beaver Fossil and Named It After Buc-ee’s
Collected in 1941, A. buceei languished in a drawer for decades.
Critters
March 27, 2023
Did Your Wedding Even Count if There Were No Goats?
The new party VIPs are beer-drinking goats, beer-toting donkeys, and the occasional giraffe.
Best Thing in Texas
March 22, 2023
Congratulations to Mr. Pickles, the Houston Zoo’s Elderly Tortoise, on Becoming a Dad
He and Mrs. Pickles are the proud parents of three new hatchlings.
Critters
March 22, 2023
Mosquito Hawks Are Flitting All Over Texas
Favorable weather led to scads of the insects this spring. (And no, they don’t eat mosquitos.)
Critters
March 18, 2023
Meet the Texas Tech Researcher Who Broke the Beavers Story
Garret Langlois explains how he first stumbled upon, then dove into the exciting discovery that beavers had returned to the Llano Estacado after thousands of years.
Critters
March 17, 2023
This Texas Couple Helps Hatch Hundreds of Baby Wood Ducks
Bob and Donna McFarland have handed out 177 nest boxes for the colorful species.
Critters
March 13, 2023
The Hunt for Wildcat Fossils in Central Texas
In a dark corner of Natural Bridge Caverns, near San Antonio, wildcat bones lay undisturbed for thousands of years. Scientists are just beginning to unlock their mysteries.