Passport to Texas

Desert Bighorn Sheep translocation project.

People: New TPWD Vet Finds His Footing Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Before Bob Dittmar joined Texas Parks and Wildlife this year as its first-ever staff veterinarian, he was in private practice in Kerrville. In his new position, he’s learning to shift focus from domestic animals and livestock to wildlife.

09—The challenge is that it’s a different situation than private practice. There’s going to be a learning curve for me just to fit into Parks and Wildlife.

He’s no stranger to the agency, though, having assisted with projects including the translocation of desert bighorn sheep and pronghorn antelope. He expects his work will be as varied as the state, itself, and include the collection and analysis of data, as well as hands on work with wildlife.

22—I’ll be working more hands on, and we’ll be looking into whatever situation might occur [among the state’s wildlife], and I’ll continue to work with the capture and translocation projects with the Bighorn Sheep and Pronghorn antelope. And there may be other things that we do as well. As time goes on we may look into more and more research projects in the wild that would involve more hands on work with other species.

Learn more about Texas wildlife and how it’s managed, when you log onto the Texas parks and Wildlife website.

The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration program supports our series and funds its work through your purchase of hunting and fishing equipment and motorboat fuel.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

Bob Dittmar, TPWD veterinarian.

People: TPWD's New Vet Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Veterinarian Bob Dittmar’s job is to help maintain healthy wildlife populations in Texas now and into the future.

17—My wife’s telling everybody that I’m going to be making sure that my grand kids and great-grand kids have wildlife to enjoy in the future. I’m going to be a part helping to ensure that our wildlife populations are healthy, and looking at it more from a veterinary medical standpoint than strictly a management and biological standpoint.

Dittmar is TPW’s first staff veterinarian. With an office in Kerrville, he’s currently spending time on the road meeting with regional biologists and technicians to further understand the needs among game and non-game species.

27—Right now, my job is to determine where I’m going to fit in and how I’m going to help. A lot of it is going to maybe be validating some of the things that the department has done in the past; maybe finding some new things that I would fit in and work on. But helping to analyze some of the date, doing some educational and training programs so that the field people will be able to recognize a disease situation or problem as it develops so we can take appropriate action.

More with Doctor Bob Dittmar – wildlife vet – tomorrow.

The WSFR program supports our series and funds its work through your purchase of hunting and fishing equipment and motorboat fuel.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

Dr. Gary Garrett

Nature: Adaptations Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This is Passport to Texas

Some animal and plant species evolve in specific locations – like springs – and only exist there and nowhere else.

25—Typically what happens is you have the ancestral version of the species throughout. Things like head springs, or spring areas, those are special isolated type environments. The temperature doesn’t change; the water chemistry doesn’t change because it’s coming out of the ground. So you’ll have animals that start specializing for that very stable environment. So certainly in springs throughout the state we’ve often seen specialized animals.

Dr. Garry Garret, a fisheries biologist formerly with TPW says biologists work to understand specialization among these species.

27—But the other real useful thing about understanding this is these are called indicator species. They’ve been around for thousands of years…they’ve done just fine…as biologists we monitor their status. When we see their status starting to go down, it tells us that the environment they’re in is going down. Not just them. They’re an indicator of a larger problem. So by watching these animals or plants they tell us in advance of things degrading that ultimately may affect humans. So they’re kind of our early warning system.

And we can all use a little warning when change is afoot.

The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration program supports our series and funds diverse research projects throughout Texas

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

TPW TV: Beneath the Surface Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Cast your gaze across the Texas landscape and its majesty and diversity become evident. Yet to experience the full depth these qualities you must dig deeper; go beneath the surface.

07— All these things behind me are not mountains. They’re the edge of the rim of the canyon; we’re 800 feet below the level of the ground.

That’s ranger Randy Ferris talking about Palo Duro Canyon.

12—This is like a reverse mountain. I mean, everything is flat; if you’ve driven across the Texas Panhandle, it’s like driving on the world’s largest billiard table. And then we get to Palo Duro Canyon, and the bottom just drops out of it.

Hidden worlds also exist below the surface of fresh and salt water – especially saltwater. Sylvia Earle, Advisory Board Chair, at the Harte Research Institute, says we must treat the Gulf with care and reverence or lose it.

17— We have in the past thought it was free, and infinite in its capacity to recover no matter what we did to it. But we’re learning that unless we take care and understand that this is a shared ocean, and that we need to work together to understand it, take care of it, and to use it – but don’t use it up.

View a segment on the Texas Parks and Wildlife PBS TV series called Beneath the Surface this week. Check your local listings.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife, I’m Cecilia Nasti.

Endangered Ocelot

Wildlife: Ocelot Mortality in South Texas Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

An estimated 50 endangered ocelots survive in the thick brush and shelters of the Lower Rio Grande Valley… including Cameron County. As the human population there grows, so do cat/car run-ins. The USFW service reported four ocelot deaths on Highway 100, which goes to South Padre Island, in as many years.

09—TXDOT is working with US Fish and Wildlife Service to determine the best way to keep ocelots off the road, but also allow for disbursement into other habitat areas.

When it comes to roads and wildlife, TXDOT gets involved. Octavio Saenz works out their Pharr office.

19—We’re also trying to determine the best locations to place wildlife crossings to allow the ocelot and other wildlife to travel under the roadways. And, in the interim, we’re trying to determine the best locations to fence and allow the ocelot to travel across the roadways at narrow locations to minimize the number of mortalities on the roadway.

Until then, if you live in or are visiting that area of Texas, be aware of who and what shares the road with you.

13—In Cameron County, look out for the wildlife crossing signs; slow down to a safe speed when you see the signs. And also, be alert – especially during the dawn and the dusk hours – when the ocelot will be most likely traveling.

The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program supports our series.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife, I’m Cecilia Nasti.