Passport to Texas

Misplaced Wildlife, 1 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

If biologist Wendy Connally has one piece of advice to share when it comes to finding wildlife in unexpected places, it would be this:

15—In those instances, unless the animals is physically wounded, bleeding, broken…it’s really best to keep your distance, maintain some peace and quiet, and allow that animal to be.

Animals rely on instinct…instincts, which at times, may place them in jeopardy, such as when crossing busy roadways for migration or seeking a mate. That’s when humans want to “help.”

19— For instance, if you see turtles crossing the road—don’t put yourself in harm’s way. Pull over on the shoulder of the road if it’s a safe and legal place to be. You can put your flashers on; that creates an awareness for people to slow down. People may see that turtle crossing the road and get the idea that you are trying to do your part.

Some people insist on taking a hands on approach when it comes to aiding wildlife, such as turtles, that appear to be at risk. If you must, Wendy Connally says: do so thoughtfully and safely.

13— Pay very close attention to where it was pointed, and where it was headed. And then you could pick it up and safely transport it just to the other side of the road, and then let it find its bearings and continue its path; and then wash your hands (laughs).

We’ll have more about “misplaced” wildlife tomorrow.

The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration program supports our series and funds conservation projects in Texas.

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

Bats and Agriculture Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Millions of Mexican Free-tailed bats are back in Texas where they will bear young and eat tons of pesky insects.

05—The Mexican free-tailed bat in particular is really valuable for agricultural purposes.

Meg Goodman is a bat biologist.

13—Current research has shown that these bats can save farmers up to two sprays of pesticides per year because of all the insect pests that they’re eating. They’re eating things like the corn earworm moth and the cotton boll worm moth, among other crop pest species.

In addition to eating their weight in crop pests and other annoying insects, their nightly flights from inside caves and under bridges attract tourists.

14—Just their numbers and nightly emergences bring in a lot of tourist dollars to a lot of small communities and big communities like Austin. It’s one of our top tourist destinations right here in Austin. But they do provide a lot of dollars through nature tourism through a lot of our smaller communities throughout the state.

The Ann Richards Congress AV Bridge in Austin is home to more than 1.5 million Mexican free-tailed bats.

Beginning in late spring, people line the bridge to witness adult bats emerge about sunset and head to the agricultural land east of Austin where they begin their nightly feeding.

Our show receives support from the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration program…which funds conservation projects throughout Texas.

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

Bats are Back Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Some people will always be afraid of bats no matter what.

04—A lot of people fear bats because of a lot of myths and superstitions associated with them.

Meg Goodman is a bat biologist. She says bats will not intentionally entangle themselves in your hair, or do any of the other bad bat behavior for which they receive blame.

08—We do a lot of work to get the message across that bats are actually very, very beneficial for us, and they’re very gentle creatures and very interesting to learn about and learn from.

Good news for bats is that people are slowly beginning to appreciate them. In fact, certain bats such as the Mexican free-tail that winters in Mexico and summers in Texas, have a following of fans in certain cities statewide.

12—The Mexican free-tailed bat is probably one of our most common bats in the state, and people know it because it lives in such large numbers in places such as bridges and caves and makes nightly emergences that many people can come out and watch.

Tomorrow Meg Goodman returns to talk about how bats can save farmers money on pest control.

05—The Mexican free-tailed bat, in particular, is really valuable for agricultural purposes.

That’s out show. The Wildlife and Sport fish Restoration program supports our series and funds conservation project throughout Texas.

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

Wildlife Trails Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

When you’re ready to discover all the wildlife Texas has to offer, hit the road with one or more of nine Great Texas Wildlife Trail maps.

The Great Texas Wildlife trails were a way that Parks and Wildlife developed to market our nature tourism attractions to both tourists and people who live here.

Shelly Plante is nature tourism director for parks and Wildlife.

Through this series of maps, we now have over 950 sites statewide that show you the best places to see all kinds of wildlife: from Bighorn Sheep to Monarch butterflies to migratory songbirds to nesting shorebirds on the Texas coast.

The maps provide easy driving loops for out of state and in state visitors; each lets the user know where to go and what they may see once they arrive.

I would like people to see how diverse Texas is. Over 950 sites are in these maps. And, we also have community information so that you can find out where to eat, where to stay. We want people to spend some time here and to see how easy it is to see some wildlife. I mean, Texas is a big state and there are such a large variety of natural attractions. These maps—I hope—make it easy for people to see how wonderful our state is, and how easy it is to get out there.

Find the Great Texas Wildlife Trail Maps on the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

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

Wildlife: Animal Calls Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Kissing the palm of your hand may sound like what a kid might do to practice for their first lip lock. But it’s also useful for attracting wildlife…the four legged variety.

:10—[kissing sound] I can do that to a bobcat that’s sitting out there behind a bush at a hundred yards, and it’ll start him towards me almost immediately. It just sounds delicious.

Gerald Stewart is a consultant for Johnny Stewart wildlife calls. Gerald’s dad, Johnny, created the business, which featured recorded animal sounds.

:23—Dad realized early on in the development of the business, that these sounds could be used by quite a wide variety of people. Photographers, nature lovers, bird watchers, hunters, researchers, or people that just want to simply show their grand kids [raccoon call] the eyes of a raccoon coming through the grass at night…just for the joy of being able to see something wild, literally a few feet away from them.

Screech owls are common in residential neighborhoods, and are a good animal to call when you’re with children.

:15—[screech owl] It’s easier to call screech owls with children around. Screech owls are a gregarious little bird, very social. And will put up with human presence. After a minute or two of being there, humans can just start talking and milling around and the little screech owl just sits in the tree.

Learn about native wildlife by logging onto the Texas Parks and Wildlife web site.

That’s our show for today. For Texas Parks and Wildlife, I’m Cecilia Nasti.