198
Prickly pear cactus
Pads, fruit and bright blooms make prickly pear a familiar sight from ranch country to the desert west.
The living state
Texas Wildlife, Plants & Geography
Texas wildlife changes with its geography: coast, thornscrub, desert, prairie, pine forest, limestone country and city bridges all support different icons.
25 entries in this chapter
196
Mexican free-tailed bats
Huge summer colonies under bridges and in caves turn sunset bat flights into one of Central Texas's signature wildlife spectacles.
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197
Bluebonnets
Spring roadside blooms became one of the most photographed symbols of Texas.
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199
Armadillos
The nine-banded armadillo is an official state small mammal and one of Texas's most instantly recognizable animals.
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200
Texas horned lizards
The 'horny toad' is beloved across Texas even as habitat loss made sightings less common in many places.
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201
Whooping cranes
The endangered birds winter along the central Texas coast, especially around the Aransas region.
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202
Texas Longhorns
Sweeping horns and open-range history turned the cattle breed into a state symbol and ranching icon.
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203
Feral hogs
Highly adaptable wild pigs are now common across much of Texas and create major agricultural and ecological problems.
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204
Mesquite
A thorny rangeland tree, fuel source and barbecue smoke wood that signals drier parts of Texas.
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205
Bald cypress
Massive trunks and flared bases line spring-fed rivers and East Texas wetlands; Spanish moss adds drama in the east.
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206
Live oaks
Broad crowns and twisting limbs shape town squares, ranches and neighborhoods across large parts of Texas.
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207
Northern mockingbird
Texas's state bird is a fearless mimic heard in backyards and parking lots almost everywhere.
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208
Pecan tree
The official state tree connects river bottoms, shade, commercial orchards and Texas desserts.
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209
Rio Grande Valley grapefruit
Citrus groves in deep South Texas made red grapefruit a regional agricultural icon.
210
Guadalupe bass
The native river fish is Texas's official state fish and a Hill Country conservation success story.
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211
Rattlesnake roundups
West and North Texas events reflect a controversial but longstanding regional relationship with rattlesnakes.
212
Ocelots
A tiny U.S. population survives in deep South Texas thornscrub, making the spotted cat one of the state's rarest mammals.
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213
Painted buntings
Brilliant males bring tropical-looking color to brush, woodland edges and summer backyards.
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214
Roadrunners
Fast, long-tailed birds dart across roads and scrub from Central to West Texas.
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215
Javelinas
Collared peccaries travel in groups through South and West Texas brush country.
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216
Blue crabs
Bays and marshes support a familiar Gulf Coast catch with bright claws and serious attitude.
217
Lightning whelks
The large left-handed shell is Texas's official state shell and a prized Gulf beach find.
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218
Ashe juniper
The Hill Country 'cedar' shapes limestone slopes, wildlife habitat and the infamous winter pollen season.
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219
Yellow Rose of Texas
More powerful as folklore, song and symbol than as one specific native flower, the yellow rose remains embedded in Texas imagery.
220
Turkey vultures
Dark silhouettes circling thermal currents are a familiar part of open Texas skies.
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