Shasta Ground Sloths

Ground sloths weren’t cute, cuddly tree-dwellers like sloths today. They weighed 500 pounds and stood nine-feet tall. Who were these Ice Age creatures? And what have they taught us about the desert’s past? MORE…

Good News Bears

After an absence of nearly fifty years, black bears have been making a remarkable comeback in Big Bend National Park. How did they return? And what’s the outlook for the future of black bears in our region? MORE…

Pronghorn in Decline

Pronghorn have perfect camouflage, unmatched speed, and can spot a predator miles away. But that hasn’t protected them from a mysterious population decline in Trans-Pecos Texas. What’s happening to them? MORE…

When Sheep Fly

When Elephant Mountain gets too crowded with desert bighorn sheep, and it’s time to start a new herd in Big Bend Ranch State Park, how do you move 46 of these rare animals to a new home? MORE…

Coyotes

Writer J. Frank Dobie wished he could be sung to sleep and woken by a coyote chorus every day. But not everyone regards coyotes so amiably. Who are these song dogs? And do they deserve their bad reputation? MORE…

Pine Dining

Pine trees are much more than symbols of Christmas and sources of timber. They serve up a smorgasbord for many wild animals and insects. Who dines on pines in the Chihuahuan Desert region? MORE…

Wildlife Rehabilitation

What keeps an El Paso wildlife rehabilitator going through 16-hour days and the sadness of having to euthanize animals that can’t be saved? A dove named Larry, and a goose’s gratitude. MORE…

Coping with Aridity

Desert animals have adapted to surviving with little or no water during our dry winter and spring. How do they do it? MORE…

Bats in Peril: White-nose Syndrome

A fungal disease has been destroying bat colonies in the northeastern United States and is now spreading south and west across the country. What is this devastating disease? And are our region’s bats at risk? MORE…

Tracking the Desert

You may not see many animals when you’re hiking in the desert; but, if you slow down and take a look at the ground, you’ll find signs of life everywhere. What are these signs and what can they tell you about the animals that left them? MORE…

Packrats

The packrat gets its name from its habit of collecting bits of bone, plant material, and even items from your camp site. This is a boon for paleo-ecologists who use packrat dens to study the past. MORE…