Posted by Rachel in Field Research,Texas,Uncategorized
Female Missouri River Cooter
Like the chicken of legend and lore, the answer to the question is to get to the other side. But in the process, turtles crossing one East Texas highway are finding the journey fraught with peril and one that could change the very make up of their population and irrevocably alter their future.
Each spring, prehistoric, bony plated animals begin an arduous journey in Texas. The journey, one that has occurred since the time of the dinosaurs, is undertaken by a determined and tenacious animal – the female fresh water turtle.
Since the summer of 2008, researchers from the Houston Zoo have been conducting road mortality surveys for wildlife on approximately 2 miles of State Highway 190 crossing Steinhagen Lake between Jasper and Tyler counties. So far, Zoo researchers have counted over 500 dead turtles, most of which are female Red-eared sliders (Trachemys scripta elegans) and Missouri river cooters (Pseudemys concinna metteri) that are crossing the road to nest alongside the highway.
Houston Zoo Biologists
The rate of mortality in the first year of our research equals to approximately 115 turtles killed per mile per year on this stretch of road, making the area near Steinhagen Lake second on the list of the top 5 highest mortality spots for turtles in North America. According to published findings at other locations similar to the highway near Steinhagen Lake, research indicates this type of road mortality is not sustainable and will eventually result in a male biased population resulting in the eventual decline of the turtle population in the lake.
Turtle road mortality
The Houston Zoo is currently working with partners to identify possible solutions to reduce the number of turtle deaths. The most likely solution would be a 2-mile fence running along side State Highway 190 to prevent the female turtles from crossing the road. Such fences have reduced mortality up to 98% in other high mortality locations.
Hatchling Turtles
To learn more about freshwater turtles and get savvy on turtle facts and myths, click here.
Posted by Rachel in Endangered Species,Featured,Field Research,Sea Turtles,Texas,Uncategorized
While on my sea turtle patrol yesterday I intercepted this female Kemp’s ridley sea turtle awkwardly flapping and slowly inching her way along the beach to the dunes to nest and deposit her eggs. What an experience to share space and be alone with this magnificent sea dwelling animal on a sunny June afternoon! At a time of so much frustration and worry for the Gulf and all of it’s inhabitants-it is so hopeful & special to see one of the most endangered animals in the world both surviving, and thankfully, recovering from near extinction only a few decades ago.
She must have been a picky mom because she dug a few holes and went back into the water without depositing her eggs. She was looking for just the right spot. A shot of her making her way back to the sea…
There’s nothing like the cool and refreshing splatter of the ocean water after baking in the hot sun!
Find out more about sea turtle conservation at the Houston Zoo and in Texas!
Would you please share with me and other Houston Zoo blog readers one of your most memorable wildlife experiences?
Posted by Rachel in Endangered Species,Field Research,Sea Turtles,Texas,Uncategorized
Fabulous news people.
6 Kemps ridley sea turtle nests have been detected on the upper Texas coast and a total of 82 nests statewide!
The first four nests from our neck of the woods came last Wednesday, 3 female ridleys were subsequently satellite tagged and released back in the Gulf.
Do you want to hear even more fabulous news?
After many patrols over the last several years and sand in really weird places, all of the patience & grittiness finally paid off…
ONE OF THE SEA TURTLES WAS FOUND ON MY PATROL!!!!!! Sorry, could not hold it in any longer. 
Below is a picture of the beautiful girl found on Surfside beach! She did attempt to evade me of course. About 1 hour after I passed this area on my ATV, she crawled out of the water and two beachgoers watched her crawl up to the dunes, dig a hole, and begin to nest. They did the right thing and called 1-866-TURTLE5 and I was contacted by a NOAA biologist to respond- I flew like I have never flew before and came upon a most delightful sight, one of the most magnificent and endagered sea turtles on the planet. Everyone on the beach that day was awe-struck and thankful to be in the right place, at the right time and to be able to sneak a peek at such an amazing wild animal.
Truly a once and a lifetime experience!
We covered her with wet towels to keep her nice and cool until students from Texas A&M Galveston came to excavate her eggs and tag her.
102 eggs were excavated from her nest. Good mamma!
Release of the three Kemps ridley sea turtles. I bet it felt great to be back in the water.
You can track the movement of tagged ridley turtles by visiting the following link. The ladies tagged last week should be up soon.
REMEMBER, IF YOU ARE ON THE BEACH AND SEE A LIVE OR DEAD SEA TURTLE, HATCHLINGS, OR A NEST CALL 1-866-TURTLE5
Posted by Renee in Uncategorized
Marsupial Frog
With Mother’s day fast approaching I thought I would stay within the theme and spotlight some frog Moms that deserve recognition. Warning – don’t try any of these mothering techniques at home!
Frogs can lay thousands of eggs; most species lay them and leave them for natural selection to take its course. But there are a few dedicated mothers that take great care in keeping their eggs safe. The marsupial frog keeps her eggs in a pouch. When the eggs hatch into tadpoles, she opens the pouch with her toes. A Surinam toad carries her young embedded in the skin of her back, where they develop until hatching fully formed. The gastric brooding frog of Australia swallows her fertilized eggs. The tadpoles remain in her stomach for up to 8 weeks, until finally hopping out of her mouth as little frogs. During the brooding period, gastric secretions cease so that she won’t digest her own offspring. What a frog Mom won’t do for her offspring!
Posted by Rachel in Uncategorized
Woohoo! We have the first Kemp’s ridley sea turtle nest confirmed on the Texas coast during
2010. It was located at Padre Island National Seashore on the morning of April 24th, 2010.
Breakdown:
KEMP’S RIDLEY TURTLE
So far this year, 1 Kemp’s ridley nest has been confirmed on the Texas
coast including (north to south in state):
Bolivar Peninsula 0
Galveston Island 0
Brazoria County, just north of Surfside 0
Surfside Beach 0
Quintana Beach 0
Bryan Beach 0
Matagorda Peninsula 0
Matagorda Island 0
San Jose Island 0
Mustang Island 0
North Padre Island 1, including 1 at Padre Island National Seashore
South Padre Island 0
Boca Chica Beach 0
The Kemp’s ridley sea turtle is one of the most endangered sea turtles in the world and nests on Texas beaches from April – July. They are the only sea turtle species to nest during the day!
REMEMBER: If you are at the beach and see a sea turtle call 1-866-TURTLE-5!
To learn more about sea turtle conservation efforts at the Houston Zoo click here.
Posted by Rachel in Uncategorized
Do you think it’s easy to get a 40 foot shipping container delivered and parked at the Houston Zoo behind the cheetah exhibit on a Friday afternoon in the middle of the medical center and Hermann Park?
Do you want the short answer? The answer is, no.
You may ask why we would insist on attempting such an unlikely and stressful action. Do you want the short answer?
It’s for the frogs. Panamanian golden frogs to be exact.
Because of a generous shipping container donation from APL and with financial assistance provided by Project Golden Frog & an Atelopus Conservation Trust grant, this container will end up at the El Valle Amphibian Conservation Center in Panama and will be the new home for the extremely rare Panamanian golden frog, a cultural icon which is believed by some to now be extint in the wild.
This container will be transformed into a romantic spa getaway, amphibian style, with hopes of breeding many golden frogs that can hopefully be returned to their native streams in Panama once a solution to the deadly chytrid fungus can be found.
The container will likely live at the Houston Zoo for the next 6 weeks while it is equipped with needed materials and supplies, then away it goes on a journey to Central America.
Learn more about Amphibian conservation projects that the Houston Zoo is involved with both in Texas and in Panama.
For more information on shipping containers used in amphibian conservation.
Panamanian golden frog
Posted by Rachel in Uncategorized
Ever wonder how conserving water at home or work really does have a direct impact on Texas wildlife and habitats?
The more water we use…the more reservoirs need to be created…the more we loose massive chunks of scenic rivers like the Neches…and the more pristine bottomland forest habitat is flooded that the amazing diversity of east Texas wildlife needs to survive…
Texas Monthly is featuring the beautiful Neches River with a 7-minute video and also with a piece in the May magazine. Texas Monthly tells about the Neches and efforts to have it designated as a National Wild and Scenic River.
A few tips on what you can do to help save wild Texas rivers like the Neches:
-Turn off the water when you brush your teeth!
-Only run full loads of dishes and clothing!
-Water your lawn in the early evening on late afternoon!
-Go native (I don’t mean streak naked through your lawn, but instead plant native plants) They require less water, are less susceptible to disease and attract native wildlife like bees, butterflies and hummingbirds.
-Limit baths, take shorter showers!
Posted by Rachel in Uncategorized
Last Thursday night I had the distinct pleasure of being one of the lucky few to catch a 1 hour sneak preview of the new Discovery Channel, 11 part wildlife documentary series, LIFE at the Landmark Theater in River Oaks.
If you liked Planet Earth, you are going to love, Life.
The cinematography was beautiful, the animal stories, narrated by Oprah Winfrey, were both educational and humorous in a way only the diva of day time television can deliver.
The general overview of this part of the series was about amazing animal adaptations, their struggle to survive in a dog eat dog world, and the powerful drive that all living things share, the drive to procreate.
From a band of cheetah brothers teaming up to hunt ostriches, to an up close and personal look at the dedicated parental care of the strawberry dart frog, to capuchins using tools in genius ways to reap the rewards of a hard to crack fruit, to male stalk eyed flies that battle with their googly eyes, the images and stories in Life are truly a breath taking, touching and an intimate look at the individual lives of the amazing and sometimes strange creatures that exist on earth.
Documentaries like LIFE connect people to nature in a way that inspires us to want to preserve the variety of life on this planet, especially when we find that even the smallest creatures on earth are so much like us.
Be sure to check it out this Sunday on the Discovery Channel, you are going to be hooked.
Posted by Peter in Endangered Species,Uncategorized,What You Can Do,orangutan
Cheyenne's Electric Passion, 2008
Artists come in all shapes and sizes, all ages and skill levels, and now – in all species. Cheyenne, a 36-year-old orangutan, is our local art scholar. She is known for having a multi-faceted personality, which is reflected in the wide-range of art she has produced.
Whether she is being silly, serious, or serene, Cheyenne’s art is widely considered to be the most beautiful and impressive at the Zoo. So much so that one of her paintings was once featured on the Late Show with David Letterman.
Cheyenne’s limited edition artwork will be part of our next Pongos Helping Pongos Art Event and Auction to raise funds for Orangutan and Elephant conservation programs in Borneo. Visit Cheyenne’s webpage at https://www.houstonzoo.org/meet-cheyenne/
Posted by Peter in Uncategorized
Adult Cheetah, Masai Mara, Kenya
Since it is raining every day in Houston this week, let’s talk about the consequences of prolonged drought and weather pattern shift. Sounds like a weighty topic? It is which is why I am going to just give two examples of the effects changing weather may have on wildlife and people.
Africa 2009. Mali to be exact. Timbuktu! Who thought that was a made up place only seen in movies? Geography lesson – go to a search engine and find Mali within the African continent. Mali holds what is thought to be the last remaning population of desert elephants in Africa and being desert elephants, they have adapted to living in harsh conditions. According to Save the Elephants, each year, these elephants trek farther on the fringes of the Sahara to find water. They have the longest migration route of any in the continent, traveling “in a counterclockwise circle” of about 700 kilometers (435 miles).
Here is the lingering issue from what is perceived to be the worst drought in nearly three decades in that region. The lack of water has forced elephants to compete with the herdsmen who manage livestock for water resources such as waterholes and wells, many of them man-made for the livestock. The herdsmen need to feed their communities and the wildlife need to drink to survive so you can see the serious issue that can and did occur. In other parts of Africa, this scenario played out with the continents top predators such as Lions and Leopards.
In East Africa, drought sticken lands led to loss of vegetation so when the rains finally did arrive in the fall they brought with them mudslides, crop destruction, waterborne diseases and disrupted road networks accoridng to the the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Back home in Texas, drought hit Central and Southern Texas and is actually into it’s 3rd year and is effecting some of the areas natural resources such as the spring-fed Barton Creek, a popular tourist destination as well as wildlife, ranchers and agricultural operations.
Enjoy the wet weather while we have it. It is consistent weather patterns we need to break these erratic cycle worldwide.