Passport to Texas

This is Passport to Texas

[SFX brown pelicans calling]

Standing on the shore of the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, wildlife veterinarian, Dan Mulcahy, called it a good day for pelicans affected by the oil spill in the gulf.

06—We’re here today to participate in the largest release of oiled pelicans following the oil spill to date.

In late June, 38 animals arrived at Rockport Airport via Coast Guard Jet from a Louisiana rehabilitation center. Their final destination: Aransas National Wildlife Refuge.

12—They were picked up here at the Rockport Airport by the staff of the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge and TPW, and were released as fast as we could undo the crates and let them go.

Once free, the birds gathered on the water away from shore and preened, which pleased Nancy Brown from the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

03—They can focus on preening as opposed to just surviving.

Texas offers abundant habitat for the pelicans. Yet, these iconic birds still aren’t out of danger. Any long-term health effects from their ordeal are yet unknown.

08—We look forward to coming out here next year and hopefully seeing these birds and hopefully they’re fatter and happier and doing well here on the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge.

Before their release, biologists placed a steel band with a unique ID on each bird’s leg to track our newest Texans into what will hopefully be a long and healthy future.

That’s our show… For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

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This is Passport to Texas

White Nose Syndrome is headed to Texas.

O6—This disease has the potential to impact over half of our North American bat species.

Mylea Bayless is a conservation biologist with Bat Conservation International, also called BCI. Little is clear about the disease, other than it’s a fungus that’s killed about a million hibernating bats, mostly in the northeast, since its discovery in NY State in 2006.

As of June 15, the disease had affected nine species of bats, in 14 states. In May, it was confirmed in Oklahoma, poised on Texas’ doorstep.

O3—So what we’re trying to do right now is to implement a surveillance plan.

John Young is a non-game mammalogist for Parks and Wildlife. He’s enlisting the help of BCI, the Texas Department of Health, Universities and others to help monitor the diseases’ progression. So far, it’s not been found in Texas.

16—We have taken a bit of a proactive stance on our wildlife management areas and some of out state parks where we’re looking at closing cave access if there’s bats present. But that won’t be all of the caves that we have because some don’t have bats, and it will only be a select number of caves.

Find detailed information about your role in limiting the spread of this disease at passporttotexas.org.

The Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program supports our show.

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

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This is Passport to Texas

Geomyces [gee-oh-MY-seez] destructans, also called white nose syndrome, has been killing bats in the Northeastern US since 2006.

11—White nose is this really mysterious disease, we’re still trying to figure it out. It’s brand new. It’s closely associated with a fungus that invades the bat tissues while they’re hibernating.

Mylea Bayless is a conservation biologist with Bat Conservation International. Researchers think the white fungus burrows into bats’ skin during hibernation, killing 90 to 100 percent of affected animals.

14—It seems like this fungus is disrupting their hibernation patterns and they’re waking up twice as often, and so they run out of fat twice as quickly. So, in January or February they’re out of stored fat and they simply starve to death in the caves and mines.

In May, University students in Oklahoma discovered a species of bat called cave myotis with the fungus, putting the disease on Texas’ door-step, and creating a potential threat for the 50 species of bats that live here, like the Brazilian free-tail.

21—Cave myotis very commonly roost in close association with Brazilian free-tail bats. So, I fully expect the Brazilian free-tails to become infected with the fungus very soon. What I hope will happen is that our free-tails won’t die en masse, because they don’t really hibernate for very long. Most of our free-tails migrate to Mexico.

Proactive measures to protect bat colonies in Texas—that’s tomorrow. The Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program supports our show

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

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This is Passport to Texas

The whooping crane is a favorite species among birders and among Texas Parks and Wildlife TV producers. Ron Kabele tells us about a segment coming up this month that focuses on this big bird and their human admirers.

A Journey South is it’s title, but it’s really about the whooping crane’s journey south and the people’s journey south to see them. And some of them are very, very dedicated to the preservation of the species. And then there were all the people who had never seen them before, you know, the first timers, and how excited people got to see them.

These are huge birds. You do their wingspan to one end to the other and they’re taller than a human. These are enormous birds—just the fact that they can fly is pretty much a miracle.

Who is somebody you talked to that is really memorable.

There was a couple, and she had Alzheimer’s. They’d been coming down every weekend, and they cut back brush—a lot of the heavy manual labor. It helps them, because with her progressing disease, they’re with people that they really like who care about them. And she gets out and does physical active work. And it’s worked out really good for them. It’s kind of a sweet way to deal with a catastrophic illness.

Thanks Ron.

That’s our show … For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

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This is Passport to Texas

The Kemps’ Ridley may be the best known—and most threatened—sea turtle that occurs along the Texas coast, but it’s not the only one.

19—The ones that we hear most commonly about are the Kemp’s Ridley, and the green sea turtle—the green sea turtle is threatened in Texas and the populations are increasing. Also in Texas, there’s the Loggerhead, that’s a threatened species. What we hear about less are both endangered turtles: The Hawksbill and the Leatherback.

Dr. Donna Shaver is with the US National Park Service at Padre Island National Seashore. She says if you ever see stranded or nesting sea turtles, report your observation to officials.

17—Many of our entrances to beach access roads, signs are posted that have a telephone number to call. And then once they call, they will receive a recorded message that will tell them the proper contact number for the particular geographic area where they are located.

The number to call is 1-866-TURTLE5…And if you come across a nesting female…

17—Stay back from the nesting turtle until she’s dug her hole with her rear flippers and is remaining mostly motionless and laying eggs. At that time, without touching the turtle, look for any tags, and without piercing anything into the sand, put a designating market next to where the turtle laid her eggs.

Find more information on sea turtles when you log onto the Texas parks and Wildlife website.

Our show receives support from the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program… For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti

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