Black Bears on the Move in Texas!

Black bear are moving across the border and into Texas

In the dim light before dawn, it’s hard to tell what that dark shape is under the feeder 100 yards from your hunting blind. It’s probably a feral hog stealing corn you bought for deer to supplement native forage. But make a positive identification before you pull the trigger; that hog-like shape could be a black bear.

Black bears were almost gone in Texas by the end of World War II because of unregulated hunting and habitat loss. However, a small resident and reproducing black bear population now exists in Texas and it is slowly expanding its range. Continue reading Black Bears on the Move in Texas!

Dragonflying is the New Birding

Dragonflying is catching on

The birding industry has established universal appeal, but birds and butterflies are not the only winged migrants to attract a crowd. Dragonflies and damselflies are gaining popularity among wildlife enthusiasts, and southern Texas is home to 93 species, making it one of the most biologically diverse regions in the United States.

The ninth annual Dragonfly Days weekend is a chance to see why dragonflying is becoming as popular as birding in some places. The event takes place in Weslaco May 15-18 and is sponsored by the Estero Llano Grande State Park World Birding Center site near Weslaco and the Valley Nature Center. Continue reading Dragonflying is the New Birding

Anthrax Confirmed in Del Rio Goat

Anthrax found in a dead goat

The anthrax season near Del Rio started a little early this year, with a case confirmed March 31 in a five-year-old male goat. The Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC) is advising owners in the area to vaccinate livestock to prevent additional death losses.

“Usually we see cases of anthrax occurring in summer when the temperatures rise, but this spring has been quite warm. Anthrax occurs worldwide, but in Texas, cases are typically found in a triangle bounded by Uvalde, Ozona and Eagle Pass, which takes in portions of Crockett, Val Verde, Sutton, Edwards, Kinney, Uvalde and Maverick counties,” said Dr. Hillman, Texas’ state veterinarian and head of the Texas Animal Health Commission, the state’s regulatory agency for livestock and poultry health.

Dr. Hillman explained that anthrax bacteria lies dormant in the ground, and germination is triggered by appropriate moisture and warmth. As the bacteria migrates to the surface, it contaminates grass and soil, where it is picked up by grazing animals. Because anthrax bacteria generall does not migrate in the ground, contamination in a large pasture may be limited to
only a small area. Continue reading Anthrax Confirmed in Del Rio Goat

Feral Hogs Go Suburban

Feral Hogs in the city

I was locking a pipe-rail gate behind R.L. Loving’s pickup truck, when the woman walked through her patio door, into her backyard, shielded her eyes with a hand and stared intently across the bayou at us. “This could go either way,” R.L. said.

In the back of his truck squatted a large cage made of heavy-gauge wire. Inside the cage were three live feral hogs — a big sow and a couple of shoats. We were on the edge of a large tract of as-yet-undeveloped property barely outside Houston’s city limits and hard against a patch of suburbia filled with half-million-dollar homes.

R.L., an accountant and financial adviser by profession but an outdoorsperson at heart, had permission — the blessing, really — of the folks who control the tract to live-trap and remove feral hogs there. He is good at it. Continue reading Feral Hogs Go Suburban

Elk Released at Royal Blue WMA

Elk Released at Royal Blue WMA

An estimated 500 people braved the elements on the morning of Saturday, March 8th, to witness thirty-four elk being released at the Royal Blue Wildlife Management Area in Campbell County. The elk were transported from the Land-Between-The-Lakes area in Kentucky after all test results reflected a clean bill of health for the entire herd.

The elk began the trip to their new home on Friday morning in four specially designed trailers. They arrived after dark that evening and were held overnight at Royal Blue WMA. Saturday morning the trailer doors were opened and the elk surveyed their new home as a beautiful blanket of snow fell on the already snow covered Massengale Mountain. Continue reading Elk Released at Royal Blue WMA

Fannin County Game Warden Honored

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Game Warden Eddie Hines of Bonham was honored for his work with the National Wild Turkey Federation in a ceremony before the TPW Commission here March 27.

Hines was named the NWTF Enforcement Officer of the Year for Texas. Paul Ferrell, East Texas regional director for the NWTF, cited Hines’ ongoing community involvement, his work in youth education and his work with other law enforcement agencies in northeast Texas.

Hines also was instrumental in forming a Fannin County chapter of the NWTF and helped raise more than $16,000, some $3,000 of which will be used for Texas projects such as wild turkey habitat enhancement and restoration and education. Continue reading Fannin County Game Warden Honored

CCC Vets Bring State Park History to Bastrop

Late last week, Bastrop State Park hosted close to 70 former Civilian Conservation Corps members who helped build the foundation of the Texas State Park system back in the 1930s and 1940s. The March 28-29 event commemorated the 75th anniversary of the CCC, started by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933 to address joblessness during the Great Depression. Most of the men whose skilled hands helped build state parks such as Caddo Lake, Garner and Indian Lodge have passed on. Continue reading CCC Vets Bring State Park History to Bastrop