Texas Times Weekly - Wild Mammals: An Iconic Group in Texas' Diverse Animal Kingdom

Statement

Texas Times Weekly - Wild Mammals: An Iconic Group in Texas' Diverse Animal Kingdom

By: Sen. John Cornyn

From the rolling green of the Texas Hill Country to the High Plains in the panhandle and the rich forests in East Texas, our state is a varied panorama of unique terrain. As a result, it should come as no surprise that Texas is the second most biologically diverse state in the nation, with hundreds of species of animals and plants who call our state home.

A look at just one segment of nature—wild mammals—reveals the remarkable variety within Texas' animal kingdom. Texas has more than 180 species of native mammals. Included are deer, coyotes, river otters, bobcats, jackrabbits, and whales in our Gulf waters. Some come to mind more easily than others, such as the state small mammal, the armadillo, and the state flying mammal, the Mexican free-tailed bat.

History helps us recapture some of the first wild mammal sightings in Texas. Notes from the 1854 expedition of U.S. Army Captain R.B. Marcy were published in the book "Through Unexplored Texas." In one episode, the calls of wolves came frighteningly close to their campsite: "An hour had not elapsed, before we had a beautiful concert of whines, yells and barks from a pack of at least one hundred wolves, who … kept up their hungry serenade until day dawned."

Another mammal spotted by the Marcy expedition, the prairie dog, became known as "an icon of the grassland." The Army explorers entered "an extensive prairie dog town" estimated at 100 square miles, with "a population not to be exceeded by any city in the world." It has been estimated the prairie dog population in Texas peaked as high as 800 million a century ago.

However, over the years, the range of Texas prairie dog towns has shrunk to less than one percent of the area they once occupied, largely because of government-sponsored extermination. Several other mammals were hunted to the point of extinction, while a number declined as they suffered a loss of habitat through expansion of towns, cities and cropland.

The jaguar, red wolf and grizzly bear are some of the mammals no longer found in the back country of Texas. Others that disappeared are making a comeback, including desert bighorn sheep, black bear and bison.

A number of mammals, once domestic, became wild. The feral hog is a prime example. These mammals, notorious for being a nuisance to farmers and landowners, multiply rapidly and rampage through the Texas countryside.

Continuing research and education contributes to greater understanding and respect for wild mammals. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, along with universities, private landowners, wildlife and conservation groups, generate important knowledge. Texas families and individuals can see native mammals firsthand at our 51 state wildlife management areas and 17 national wildlife refuges.

For the majority of Texans who today live in or near cities and towns, the connection with mammals may have faded. But not all is lost, especially if we remember the wisdom of the first Texans. "For the Indians of the Plains, every plant and animal had not only its place but its right to exist in the all-enveloping harmony" of nature, Texan J. Frank Dobie once wrote.

Texas will never revert to its original, natural condition, but knowledge of the past, coupled with renewed concern and care for native mammals and all living creatures, can help accomplish what Texans do best: build a better future.

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