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
Stories and updates on some of the state’s many animals
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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.
Critters
February 21, 2012
Peek Inside the Quinlan Home Where the Buffalo Roams
Meet Wildthing, the unlikely Bison housepet of an eccentric family in Quinlan.
Critters
February 16, 2012
Dogs of War Immortalized on Stamps
Four new 65-cent stamps pay homage to the dogs of war.
Critters
February 15, 2012
Corpus Pooch Nearly Wins Westminster
Cinders, a wire-haired dachshund from Corpus Christi, was one of seven finalists for the Best in Show title.
Critters
February 8, 2012
Penguins on a Plane: Meet Southwest’s Feathered Frequent Flyers
Passengers snapped pictures and took video of a pair of Magellanic penguins toddling down an airplane's aisle on a recent flight from Orlando to New York.
Critters
January 31, 2012
Monkeys, Humans Camped Out in RV Near Texas-Louisiana Border
A Louisianan couple and their four Capuchin monkeys are on the lam in East Texas, avoiding authorities who may want to take away the animals.
Critters
January 29, 2012
VIDEO: “60 Minutes” on Exotic Game Ranches in Texas
Lara Logan joins a hunt for scimitar horned oryx in the Hill Country.
The Culture
January 20, 2012
“Bootylicious” Horsefly Named After Beyonce
An Australian scientist honored the singer by dubbing the "all time diva of flies" Scaptia beyonceae. Surprisingly, this isn't the only insect named after a Texan.
January 20, 2012
Furry Friday: Dogs Riding Zambonis
The San Antonio Rampage, the city's minor league hockey team, will attempt to set the Guinness World Record for most dogs at a sporting event.
Critters
December 16, 2011
Furry Friday: Reindeer Take the Interstate
Two reindeer ran out onto I-45 during rush hour in Webster.
Critters
December 13, 2011
Things Get Hog Wild in a Fort Worth Neighborhood
Thirty feral hogs escaped from their pens at a local meatpacking plant and led animal control officers on a frantic chase.
Critters
December 9, 2011
Furry Friday: How to Feed 6,000 Zoo Animals
The Houston Chronicle offers a glimpse into the how the Houston Zoo’s industrial kitchen operates.
The Culture
December 1, 2011
Furry Friday: Red Headed Kittie
Willie Nelson’s classic album Red Headed Stranger gets “The Kitten Covers” treatment, but which other Texas albums deserve to be profiled?
Critters
August 1, 2011
Whole Hog
Texas has a serious problem with feral hogs, which cause more than $400 million in damage every year. But it can be solved—one delicious bite at a time.
Critters
June 1, 2011
Rattled!
My short, unfulfilling, momentarily terrifying career as a rattlesnake racer.
Critters
January 1, 2008
Fred Garza, Tick Rider
Garza was born and raised in Webb County. For the past fifteen years, he has been an inspector with the Cattle Fever Tick Eradication Program, a mounted patrol started by the USDA in 1906.A tick rider patrols the border, the Rio Grande River, on horseback every day. Our job is
Critters
September 30, 2004
Case by Case
What to do in ten more worst-case scenarios, from getting bitten by a brown recluse to getting caught in a dust storm.
Critters
March 1, 2004
Conversations With a Grasshopper
To experience the majesty and peril of the desert on my own terms, I spent a week alone in the Solitario, the most remote area of Big Bend Ranch State Park. I confronted my darkest fears—and made small talk with an insect.
Arts & Entertainment
January 1, 2002
My Short, Unhappy Life as a Rodeo Clown
Once upon a time I thought I wanted to be a bullfighter (and not the kind that wears sequined tights). A legendary cowboy named Leon Coffee and an animal named Pretty Boy changed my mind.
By John Spong![John Spong's Profile Photo]()
Critters
April 1, 1999
Wing Tips
Where to see the painted bunting, the summer tanager, and other feathered friends: A guide to the best birding spots in Texas.
Critters
April 1, 1998
Rattled
Nothing riles a Texan like a rattlesnake, whose aggression and toxicity account for endless horror stories. Some of them are even true.
Critters
August 31, 1997
Winging It
A bat man builds a super cave (holy conservation!).
Critters
July 31, 1997
Pig Out
A swimming swine’s squeally big show comes to an end.
Critters
March 1, 1996
Where the Wild Things Are
One of the country’s top photographers traveled around his home state to capture these stunning portraits of exotic animals on display.