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DOMESTIC ANIMALS |
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Florida and Texas are only arguably part of the south. They each have a ridiculous number of wildlife places to see animals. So, they each have their own pages. What you see here are only some of the highlights.
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Congress Ave Bridge Bats - TX
Austin's Congress Avenue Bridge was inadvertently built as an ideal nursery for Mexican free-tailed bats. By August 1.5 million mother and pups fly out every dusk. The Austin-American Statesman created a viewing area off their parking lot. |
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Whooping Cranes at the Aransas NWR - TX
The Aransas National Wildlife Refuge is the winter home to the only wild flock of whooping cranes left. About 230 whooping cranes spend their summers in Wood Buffalo National Park in Saskatchewan, the spend October to May in Texas. Whooping cranes are the rarest crane and about the biggest: five feet tall, with a wingspan of eight feet. Because of hunting, feather and egg collecting and loss of habitat, the species was down to just 20 individuals by the 1940s. The USGS and Fish and Wildlife Service have been breeding the birds in captivity and introducing a second flock that winters in Florida and summers in Wisconsin. Operation Migration teaches these birds the route that they would normally learn from their parents by leading them with an ultralight aircraft.
You can see one whooping crane family from the Observation Tower near Mustang Lake. To see more you'll need to take a boat tour from Rockport. The Refuge is between Austwell and and Rockport / Fulton. It's on FM 2040 off FM 774. Wildlife Center (361) 286-3559 Boat Tours: Pisces Charters – (800) 245-9324 The Skimmer – (877) 892-4737 Wharf Cat – (800) 782-2473 |
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Bracken Bat Cave - TX Bat Conservation International bought about 700 acres surrounding the Bracken Bat Cave. The largest concentration of bats in the world lives within a half hour of San Antonio. During the summer they hold special weekly trips for dusk fly-outs just for members. July and August are the peak months. You may see the cloud-like swarm from nearby Natural Bridge Caverns. (512) 327-9721 |
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CARE - Big Cat Rescue
Center for Animal Research and Education takes in and (where possible) rehabilitates abused or injured big cats. They have 4 leopards (1 snow), 3 cougars, 3 African lions, and 39 tigers.
The center offers tours for a minimum $10 donation on Sundays. 940-683-8115, Bridgeport, TX |
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Frio Bat Cave - West of San Antonio, TX
The Frio Bat Cave houses 10 million Mexican free-tailed bats and up to 10,000 Cave myotis. Hill Country Adventures offers summer tours on this private land. Hill Country Adventures (830) 966-2320 Tours meet at the gate on FM 2680 just south of the Frio River. |
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Bat World Sanctuary- Mineral Wells, TX
Bat World Sanctuary, headquartered in Mineral Wells, Texas, rescues and releases bats around the country. In town is a wild sanctuary, an abandoned store used every spring by a breeding colony of Mexican free-tailed bats. Bat World Sanctuary 217 N Oak Ave Mineral Wells, TX (940) 325-3404 |
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Devil's Sinkhole Bat Tour - TX The Devil's Sinkhole Natural Area centers on a round hole 50 or so feet wide that sinks down more than 300 feet and houses 3 million Mexican free-tailed bat in the summer. The only access is through tours by rangers and the Devil's Sinkhole Society. Tours start at the Rocksprings, TX, Visitor's Center on Courthouse Sq. at Sweeten and Main. |
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Old Tunnel WMA Bats - Texas, west of Austin The Old Tunnel Wildlife Management Area houses an old railroad tunnel. Three million Mexican free-tailed bats have moved in since the railroad stopped running in 1942. The best viewing is in summer an hour before dusk at the south end of the tunnel. The WMA is on Old No. 9 Hwy/Old San Antonio Road 8 miles north of FM 473. (866) 978-2287 |
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Caprock Canyons Clarity Tunnel - TX The Caprock Canyons State Park and Trailway has an abandoned railroad tunnel that houses hundreds of thousands of Mexican free-tailed bats. The Clarity Tunnel is on Mile Marker 289 of the Trailway. PDF Trailway Map here. Park office is three miles north of Quitaque on F.M. 1065.806-455-1492 |
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Eckert James River Bat Cave Preserve - TX
Eckert James River Bat Cave Preserve is one of the largest bat homes in the country. Four million Mexican free-tailed bats live here May-Sept. Tours daily. James River Road off FM 2389. (325) 347-5970
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Waugh Drive Bat Colony - Houston From March-September a quarter million Mexican free-tailed bats fly out from the Waugh Avenue Bridge in Buffalo Bayou Park at dusk. Houston, TX (713) 752-0314 |
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Exotic Cat Refuge and Wildlife Orphanage The Exotic Cat Refuge and Wildlife Orphanage rescues cougars, tigers, jaguars, lions, bobcats and leopards that have been confiscated by state agencies from people who were not caring properly for them. Bonus Species: Bears, Wolves, Owls |
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Laguna Atascosa NWR The last U.S. holdout of the ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) is the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge. Only about 50 of these small, spotted cats still survive in the US. The Friends of Laguna Atascosa run an annual Ocelot Conservation Festival in February, where a captive ocelot makes an appearance.Bonus species: Kemp’s ridley, green and loggerhead sea turtles, brown pelican, black-tailed jackrabbits, javelina, Aplomado falcon, American alligator and green jay. 22817 Ocelot Road, Los Fresnos, TX (956)748-3607 |
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International Exotic Feline Sanctuary
Tour the International Exotic Animal Sanctuary, which has been giving a permanent home outside Ft. Worth to bobcats, cougars, jaguars, leopards, lions (often ill-conceived pets) since 1988. As of 2011, they have 51 cats and 15 bears. The bears roam on two giant 5-acre compounds. All the animals participate in the Emotional Enrichment Program to cope with captivity. They offer weekday tours at 11 and weekend tours. PR 4245 Hwy 114 W , Boyd, TX (940) 433-5091 $20/adult $10/kid. No kids under 7.
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Texas Wild Dolphins
In a world where dolphins are often put on display for an overly adoring public, Erv and Sonja Strong have found another way. For decades they've been getting to know the dolphins of Corpus Christi Bay. They know 250 by sight and personality and have names for about 100. They school visitors on how to interact with the friendly dolphins and show how the dolphins that know and like them play along. Dolphin Connection 410 N Sandpiper, Ingleside, TX (361) 776-2887 |
Source: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service The National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation, 2006
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