Author Topic: For the first time, researchers find captive-bred horny toads that survived winter in the wild  (Read 557 times)

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Offline Sanguine

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For the first time ever, researchers have found captive-bred Texas horned lizard hatchlings alive after winter hibernation.

It's a big win for the state reptile, which has vanished from Texas landscapes over the past several decades.

New technology has allowed Texas Parks and Wildlife Department officials to track the tiny hatchlings more accurately than ever. In the past, hatchlings were nearly impossible to track after release, and all died within a few months.

https://www.dallasnews.com/life/texana/2019/04/09/first-time-researchers-find-captive-bred-horny-toadsthat-survived-winter-wild

I haven't seen any for years.

Online Wingnut

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  Must have been TCU grad toads..
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Offline Idiot

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I haven't seen any for years.
I saw one a few years ago in the countryside.  I had guessed that the fire ants wiped them out.  We used to play with them as kids.  We'd catch one then rub it's stomach and put it to sleep.  I'm kind of partial to them, as my brother went to TCU...lol.

Offline thackney

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I saw one a few years ago in the countryside.  I had guessed that the fire ants wiped them out.  We used to play with them as kids.  We'd catch one then rub it's stomach and put it to sleep.  I'm kind of partial to them, as my brother went to TCU...lol.

I believe fire ants hurt the population of the harvester ants which were horned frogs food.

http://archive.gosanangelo.com/news/wild-about-texas-fire-ants-rise-harms-texas-horned-lizard-ep-440591669-357182201.html
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