Critters
March 26, 2013
Why The Texas Longhorn Has Such Grit
Researchers at the University of Texas mapped the genome of the Texas Longhorn and discovered its heritage is more complicated than previously thought.
Critters
Stories and updates on some of the state’s many animals
Critters
March 15, 2013
Grumpy Cat Tolerates Texas Monthly Reporter
The living meme, which has a type of dwarfism and is officially named Tardar Sauce, visited Austin last week.
Critters
February 12, 2013
The Alligator Gar
The most misunderstood swamp creature of them all.
Critters
January 21, 2013
Donkey, Beware!
Mystery archer killed a third donkey from the same Fort Worth pasture this week.
Critters
January 21, 2013
‘Science’ Proves Bigfoot Is Real
A Texas scientist purports to have sequenced Sasquatch DNA.
Critters
January 21, 2013
Happy Turkey Day!
Feast on this: Turkeys and the three Texas presidents who pardoned them. Meantime, we hope you'll pardon us for taking a break from the TMDP. See you Monday with more great posts.
Critters
January 21, 2013
Sandy’s Furry Refugees Fly Southwest
Pets separated from their owners by Superstorm Sandy got a lift from Southwest Airlines to a no-kill shelter in California.
Critters
January 21, 2013
Who is Mutilating the Dolphins?
Crimes against dolphins plague the Gulf of Mexico.
Critters
January 21, 2013
Kemp’s Ridley Found on Dutch Beach to Be Released into Gulf of Mexico
But how did the critically endangered sea turtle end up in the Netherlands in the first place?
Critters
January 21, 2013
Lubbock Museum Kills, Stuffs Mules For Exhibit
A small controversy has erupted over the American Museum of Agriculture's decision to euthanize and stuff real mules for an exhibit.
Critters
January 21, 2013
Plague of Crickets Stink Up Waco
Thousands of bug carcasses are smelling up local businesses.
Critters
January 21, 2013
Africanized Honey Bees Swarm Central Texas
Austin and Pflugerville saw three bee attacks in one week.
Critters
January 21, 2013
The Meeting of Two Mascots
Just before Texas A&M officially joined the SEC, Reveille VIII and Bevo XIV bonded with each other (and their handlers) at a Williamson County ranch.
Critters
January 21, 2013
Texas A&M’s Bisbee, R.I.P.
The feral cat and unofficial campus mascot was found dead on Thursday, but he's still got eight more lives on Twitter. An interview with @AggieBisbee.
Critters
January 21, 2013
Nearly A Quarter of Texas Dogs Are Obese
Does this collar make me look fat? A new study suggests that one in four dogs in Texas is obese.
Critters
January 21, 2013
Feathery Friday: Giant Egg Laid in Abilene
One Abilene chicken had a rough week.
Critters
January 21, 2013
The End of Hunting for Exotic, Endangered Antelopes
The scimitar-horned oryx will be fully covered by the federal Endangered Species Act starting Wednesday, but could this mandated protection actually lead to the extinction of the species?
Critters
January 21, 2013
Furry Friday: Janis Gets the Kitten Covers Treatment
The always too-cute and too-clever Tumblr gives us Katis Joplin's Purrl.
Critters
January 21, 2013
Dallas Zoo’s Koala Drought is Over
The Dallas Zoo’s new koala exhibit, featuring two koalas on a thirty-month loan from the San Diego Zoo, opens Saturday.
Critters
January 21, 2013
Native American News Network Takes Aim at White Buffalo Hunt
Indian Country Today rallies its readers against the Texas Hunt Lodge, which offers a "rare White Buffalo Hunt."
Critters
January 21, 2013
Kangaroo Knocks Out Homeowners Association
Homeowners Associations have long had a bad rap, and that was before one tried to take away a disabled girl's pet kangaroo.
Critters
January 21, 2013
Inside San Antonio’s Animal Court
The Wall Street Journal’s Nathan Koppel writes about San Antonio's new court, designed to handle animal cases.
Critters
January 21, 2013
Furry Friday: On February 2, Groundhog-less Houston Zoo Celebrates “Babirusa Day”
The zoo enlisted the endangered Indonesian pig to predict whether the city would have an early spring or six more weeks of winter.
Critters
January 21, 2013
Furry Friday: The Longest Longhorns in the World are in . . . Australia?
JR, a seven-year-old Texas Longhorn with 109-inch horns, calls North Queensland, Australia, home.
Critters
January 21, 2013
Man Arrested for Stabbing Puppy in Abilene
Abilene police arrested a man who attacked a fourteen-week-old puppy.
Critters
January 21, 2013
Furry Friday: Meet Vespa, the Two-Legged Chihuahua
A video certain to make your heart melt: A dog with no front legs gets a handcrafted set of wheels to help her scoot around.
Critters
January 21, 2013
A Very Kardashian Furry Friday
Khloe and Kim Kardashian dropped by the Dallas World Aquarium this week.
Critters
January 21, 2013
Slaughterhorse Rules: The Debate Over Updated Regulations Continues
With the USDA poised to once again allow the processing of horse meat, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram argues that Texas should repeal its 1949 law against the practice.
Critters
January 21, 2013
Does This Mean Horse Is Back on the Menu?
Five years after the federal government closed facilities that slaughter horses, President Barack Obama signed legislation that effectively reverses the old policy and allows slaughter plants to open.
Critters
January 20, 2013
Horse Sense
Redford, shmedford: If you think the aging Hollywood hunk is anything like the prototypical horse whisperer, you haven’t met Del Rio native Ernesto Rojas Serna.
Critters
January 1, 2013
The Red Imported Fire Ant
Why are they so damn angry all the time?
Critters
December 21, 2012
Furry Friday: Our Five Favorite Animal Stories of the Year
Baby rhinos, penguins on airplanes, lions in church, and other animal tales we enjoyed in 2012.
Critters
December 11, 2012
When Lemurs Attack: East Texas Edition
A lemur named Keanu attacked a postal worker named Marla Reeves as she drove her rural route outside of Grapeland.
Critters
December 1, 2012
The White-Tailed Deer
Ever wonder about that fellow in the crosshairs?
Critters
November 20, 2012
Deer Attacks Men, Eats Marlboros
Disgruntled east Texas deer turns hunters into hunted.
Critters
November 6, 2012
Did You Say You Wanted to Buy a Zetas Racehorse?
The federal government made a cool $8.8 million over the weekend auctioning off racehorses that purportedly belong to the Zetas.
Critters
October 31, 2012
The Mexican Free-Tailed Bat
Juanita, a Mexican free-tailed bat, tells us a little about herself.
Critters
October 30, 2012
America’s Fastest Toll Road Crosses a Known Pig Route
Could your ride down America's fastest highway be ruined by some porcine road kill?
Critters
October 22, 2012
Dallas Man Says Bigfoot Threw a Rock at Him
A man camping in Shelby County thinks he saw the hairy monster in the Piney Woods.
Critters
September 26, 2012
Turtle Thursday: Five Photos of the Houston Zoo’s New Hatchlings
Earlier this month, zoo officials found Madagascar Bigheaded turtle hatchlings in the zoo's lemur exhibit.
Critters
September 6, 2012
Tournament Team Tries to Sneak Some “Fishy” Bass Into Competition
Game wardens say they have caught seven women competing in the Ladies Kingfish tournament in a lie about some sea bass. They plan to pursue felony charges.
Critters
August 31, 2012
The Horny Toad
First of all, they're not really horny.
Critters
July 24, 2012
Bunnies Returned to Galveston Sanctuary
Nine days after two bunnies were stolen from a Galveston Island bunny sanctuary, the rabbits were returned to their home.
Critters
July 5, 2012
UTSA Grad Student Moved to Hospital After Chimp Attack
A week after he was mauled by two chimpanzees at a South African sanctuary, Andrew Oberle is hospitalized in stable condition.
Critters
June 29, 2012
Project Tracks Kemp’s Ridleys Across Gulf of Mexico
A number of the critically endangered sea turtles are being monitored by the National Resource Damage Assessment, which is studying how the Deepwater Horizon oil spill impacted the animal is underway on Padre Island.
Critters
June 18, 2012
A Blind Man’s View of the Sweetwater Rattlesnake Roundup
Canadian journalist and author Ryan Knighton—who is blind—communes with reptiles he can't see for VICE magazine.
Critters
April 22, 2012
“Sharkboy” Hunter Hooks Another Big One
A fisherman and his 9-year-old son reel in sharks and reality TV producers from their kayak off the Galveston coast.
Critters
April 2, 2012
The Top Ten Most Rabid Counties in Texas
Give that skunk in your yard wide berth, because it might be rabid.
Critters
February 27, 2012
Hico Rodeo Star Arrested in Rhino Horn Smuggling Ring
Wade Steffen, a champion steer wrestler, was arrested after TSA officials found $337,000 and photos of rhino horns in his carry-on luggage at the Los Angeles airport.
Critters
February 24, 2012
Feathery Friday: Baby Bald Eagles in Llano, Turkeys and Penguins in San Antonio
A selection of our favorite bird-related stories from around the state.