Texas Almanac, 1976-1977 Page: 55
672 p. : ill. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this book.
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WILDLIFE 55
Mammals
A few of the leading native mammals of Texas are
described here. More complete information is found in.
"The Mammals of Texas," by William B. Davis, Bulle-
tin 41 of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department,
Austin.
ANTELOPE.-The American antelope (Antilocapra
americana Ord), or Pronghorn antelope, is primarily
a plains animal and formerly ranged in vast num-
bers over the open spaces of West Texas. It almost
became extinct, but a continuous closed season and
sound management program for a number of years
raised its numbers and there have been limited open
seasons since 1944. Specifically, these animals inhabit
the plains and basin regions of Brewster, Presidio,
Jeff Davis, Culberson and Hudspeth Counties. They
have also sufficiently increased in numbers in the
Permian Basin and Panhandle to permit open sea-
sons in recent years.
ARMADILLO.-The nine-banded armadillo
(Dasypus novemcinctus, Linnaeus) is one of Texas'
most interesting mammals. Found only in the Mexican
border region in the early days of Texas history, it has
migrated north and east and is now common as far
north and east as Oklahoma and Mississippi. It derives
its name from the Spanish diminutive for "armored
one" because of its shell of glossy plate. There has
been limited commercialization of the armadillo's shell
in the manufacture of curios. An interesting fact about
the armadillo is that they are always born four to a lit-
ter and always of the same sex.
BADGER.-The Mexican badger (Taxidea taxus,
Schreber) is found widely through West Texas, but in
greatly reduced numbers since wholesale eradication
of the prairie dog on which the badger preyed and the
accidental poisoning caused by eating baits intended
for coyotes. It is a predator, but its pelt is valuable.
The range of the badger includes the Texas Panhandle
and South Texas, where it is common.
BAT.-More than twenty species of these winged
mammals have been found in Texas, but most of
them are rare. The Mexican freetailed, or guano,
bat (Tadarida mexicana, Saussure) and the cave
bat (Myotis velifer, Allen) constitute most of the
bat population of the caves of Southwest and West
Texas, especially the first-mentioned. They have
some economic value for their deposits of guano.
Some commercial guano has been produced from
Mason Bat Cave, Mason County; Beaver Creek
Cavern, Burnet County; and from large deposits
in other caves including Devil's Sink Hole in Ed-
wards County, Blowout Cave in Blanco County and
Bandera Bat Cave, Bandera County. The big brown bat
(Eptesicus fuscus, Beauvois), the red bat (Lasiurus bo-
realis, Muller) and the evening bat (Nycticelus humer-
alis Rafinesque) are found in East and Southeast Tex-
as. The evening and big brown bats are forest and
woodland dwelling mammals. Most of the rarer species
of Texas bats have been found along the Rio Grande
and in the Trans-Pecos.
BEAR.-The black bear (Ursus americanus Pal-
las) was formerly common throughout most of the
state. It is now almost extinct with only small pockets
of animals surviving in the inaccessible river bottoms
of Eastern Texas and in the higher portions of the
Trans-Pecos. The black bear still exists in the open
ranges of Kenedy County along the Lower Gulf Coast.
The grizzly (Ursus horribilis Ord) has not been ob-
served in recent years. Most powerful and dangerous of
North American mammals, it fell a victim of farmers
and ranchmen whose livestock it destroyed.
BEAVER.-Two species of beaver are found in Tex-
as, the broad-tailed beaver (Castor canadensis fronda-
tor) ranging along the Rio Grande and Devils River
and the Texas beaver (Castor canadensis texensis)
which has been brought back from the verge of ex-
tinction to abundance through restocking.
BIGHORN.-(See Sheep.)
BISON.-The largest of native mammals of NorthAmerica, the American bison, or buffalo (Bison bison,
Linnaeus) which once roamed the Texas plains in ines-
timable numbers is found today on a few ranches and
in zoos. This fine animal became rare about 1885 as the
result of slaughter for hides, reaching a peak about the
year 1875. Estimates of the number of buffalo killed
during the period from the close of the War Between
the States to 1880 vary, but as many as 200,000 hides
sold in Fort Worth at a two-day sale. Except for the in-
terest of the late Col. Charles Goodnight and a few
other forevisioned men, the bison might be extinct.
CAT.-The jaguar (Felis onca Linnaeus) is proba-
bly now extinct in Texas and, along with the ocelot,
jaguarundi and margay, is listed as rare and en-
dangered by both federal and state wildlife agencies.
The cougar (Felis concolor, Linnaeus), which is also
known as mountain lion, puma, panther, Mexican
cougar, etc., is found occasionally in the broken coun-
try of the Edwards Plateau and in the Trans-Pecos
Mountains and the South Texas brush country. Several
reports of mountain lion sightings in East and South-
east Texas have been made in the last few years, sug-
gesting that a few lions may still exist in these areas.
The former panther of the East Texas forest, which
was closely related, may be extinct in Texas but still
exists in a few areas of Southeastern U.S. The ocelot
(Felis pardalis Linnaeus), also known as the leopard
cat, is found usually along the border. The red-and-
gray cat, or jaguarundi (Felis cacomitli Berlandier)
is found in extreme South Texas. The margay (Felis
Wiedii Schinz) was reported in 1884 near Eagle Pass.
The Texas lynx or bobcat (Lynx rufus Schreber) is
found over the state in large numbers. The feral
housecat has become a destroyer of game in many
parts of Texas.
COATI.-The coati (Nasua narica Linnaeus), a rel-
ative of the raccoon, is occasionally found in southern
Texas. It inhabits woodland areas and feeds both on the
ground and in trees. It feeds on small animals of all
types. Its diet also includes lizards, fruit and insects.
The species is found occasionally in Big Bend National
Park.
COYOTE.-The coyote (Canis latrans Say), great
in number, is the most destructive Texas predator of
livestock. On the other hand, it is probably the most
valuable predator in the balance of nature because it
has been able to withstand man's elimination attempts
and the encroachment of civilization. It is a protection
to crops and range lands by its control of rodents, rab-
bits, etc. It is found throughout the state, but is most
numerous in the brush country of Southwest Texas.
This symbol of Western Americana is also spreading
eastward, taking the place of the less adaptable wolf.
CHIPMUNK.-The gray-footed chipmunk (Euta-
mias canipes, Bailey) is found at high altitudes in the
Guadalupe and Sierra Diablo ranges of the Trans-Pe-
cos. (See "Ground Squirrel" with which it is often con-
fused in public reference.)
DEER.-The white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virgini-
anus Boddaert) is by far the most important Texas
game animal. Its number in Texas is estimated at
3.3 million and the 1971 kill was approximately 263,-
000. It thrives best in the wooded and broken areas
of the Edwards Plateau and south of San Antonio
where it often competes for feed with domestic ani-
mals. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has had
success in transplanting deer to East Texas, the tim-
bered sections of North Central Texas, and even in
the thinly populated areas of Northwest Texas the
white-tailed deer population has increased greatly.
The mule deer, also called black-tailed deer (Odo-
coileus hemionus Rafinesque) is found principally in
the Trans-Pecos and in smaller numbers in the less
thickly settled parts of the Staked Plains. It has in-
creased in number in recent years. The little Del
Carmen deer (white-tailed subspecies) is found in
limited numbers in the high valleys of the Chisos
Mountains in the Big Bend. The American elk (Cer-
vus canadensis Erxleben), though not the original
subspecies found in Texas, has been introduced into
the Guadalupe and Davis Mountains and its number
has rapidly expanded.BUCKHORN TRADING POST
MODERN & ANTIQUE GUNS * WE BUY AND SELL
2023 Main St. Dallas, Texas 742-7502
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Texas Almanac, 1976-1977, book, 1975; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth113813/m1/59/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.