Not your average Texas bears
Starving male and orphaned female found near Del Rio thriving at N.M. rehab facility
A pair of black bears, the first from Texas to go through the rehabilitation process, are doing well at the Cottonwood Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in New Mexico.
Miss Texas, previously known as Flor, weighed in at under 20 pounds when she arrived at Cottonwood. She was orphaned in October after a Del Rio resident shot and killed her mother.
Today, she is roughly 85 pounds thanks to the care of Kathleen Ramsay, who has rehabbed over 600 bears in more than 40 years of veterinary practice.
Not only is Miss Texas genetically distinct from the New Mexico bears Ramsay has dealt with in the past, but the year-old cub is extremely rambunctious and has a personality as big as the state she hails from.
“She’s a wild child,” Ramsay said. “She’s like no other bear I’ve ever had.”
Ramsay said that while 90 percent of her bears are well into hibernation, sleep is not on Miss Texas’ agenda. She constantly wrestles and plays with her dwelling partner, a “big, tough, ornery” male from New Mexico who can handle Miss Texas’ mischief.
“She’s just constantly busy, doing things, getting into trouble. She’s really a lot of fun,” Ramsay said.
“This bear is in constant motion. … She’s just a riot.”
Ramsay said she has been able to bulk Miss Texas up thanks to “acorn angels,” two women who have gone “above and beyond” to collect and ship acorns to the facility. Miss Texas has had her fill of acorns, yucca roots, roadkill, fish and lots of veggies.
She is no longer the only Texan on campus, though, after an emaciated male arrived Dec. 12.
Mr. Tex, like Miss Texas, came from the Del Rio area. After a sow was killed by a train, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department tried to recover her cubs.
One of the cubs was so badly injured that it had to be put down. The other cub got stuck in a fence and was in such poor condition that it eventually died. Mr. Tex, however, was also in the vicinity and was trapped in the process.
“It was a good thing we trapped him anyway. He was very, very underweight and in a very dangerous area, right next to train tracks and roads,” said Jonah Evans, TPWD’S state mammologist.
Mr. Tex initially was believed to be a cub, but Ramsay said he is likely a 3 or 4-year-old who was starving to death and encumbered with a myriad of ailments, including worms and parasites.
Ramsay said she was really worried about Mr. Tex when he arrived, but he has made a turnaround. She said he was around 70 pounds when he got to Cottonwood. Now he’s around 140.
“We’ve gotten all his skin parasites cleared up and all his internal parasites cleaned up, and he’s a gorgeous looking Texas black bear,” Ramsay said.
The two bears are set to return to Texas when their rehab is complete. The tentative plan is to bring the pair to the Devils River State Natural Area in March and release them in separate locations, so they won’t be right on top of each other.
“The best place for them to be is as close as possible to where they were found. … Our goal is to allow bears to naturally recolonize into parts of the state that can support them,” Evans said. “The Devils River is just the best spot that is close by.”
The need for rehabilitating Texas black bears has emerged as the species expands its range in the state. Bear sightings have increased lately not only in the borderlands of West Texas, but in the Red River area bordering Oklahoma and Arkansas.
The bears out West likely are being pushed into Texas by drought conditions south of the border.
“There are two things that are probably both happening. One is poor resources in Mexico, and the bears are coming into Texas looking for food,” Evans said.
“The other thing is there are a lot of bears coming up on trail cameras in Val Verde County. Many of them are getting into deer feeders, getting fat and having babies. So there’s a possibility that we could have the population start to grow, potentially supplemented in part by some of these deer feeders.”
To let black bears return to their native range, Texas communities will have to adapt so incidents such as the killing of Miss Texas’ mother won’t continue to happen.
Evans said people across the country have made the necessary changes, and he stresses that bear attacks on humans are extremely rare.
“There are lots of towns that have learned how to effectively coexist with bears. The magic recipe is very simple: You secure any food attractants,” Evans said.
“With the right amount of education and right amount of preparation, towns like Del Rio can probably make a few modest changes and be able to coexist with bears. And the people of the town will be able to reap the benefit of that.”
For now, two black bears are reaping the benefit of Ramsay and the efforts of the Cottonwood Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, while awaiting the trip to their new home in the Texas wilderness.
Texas Parks & Wildlife Commission: Regular meeting, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., TPWD headquarters, 4200 Smith School Road, Austin. Click on tpwd.texas.gov.
THURSDAY
Live Oak City Pond: Texas Parks & Wildlife Department rainbow trout stocking. For regulations and angling tips, click on tpwd.texas.gov and search for “trout stocking.”
Cibolo Nature Center & Farm: Duckology Workshop, a Zoom presentation on how to identify common Central Texas waterfowl with birder Patsy Inglet, 6-8 p.m., $5 donation. RSVP at cibolo.org/calendar. For more information, contact Laurie Brown, laurie@cibolo.org or 830-388-7680.
JAN. 22
Miller’s Pond: Texas Parks & Wildlife Department rainbow trout stocking. Also Feb. 19. For regulations and angling tips, click on tpwd.texas.gov and search for “trout stocking.” Southside Lions Park: Texas Parks & Wildlife Department rainbow trout stocking. Also Feb. 19. For regulations and angling tips, click on tpwd.texas.gov and search for “trout stocking.”
JAN. 23
Mitchell Lake Audubon Center: The Basics of Bird Photography, webinar with photographer Rob Michaelson, 10-11:30 a.m., $5. Register at mitchelllake.audubon.org.
JAN. 26
Mitchell Lake Audubon Center: Garden Planning for Birds and Pollinators, a free webinar, 6-7:30 p.m. Register at mitchelllake.audubon.org.
JAN. 27
Earl Scott Pond, San Antonio: Texas Parks & Wildlife Department rainbow trout stocking. For regulations and angling tips, click on tpwd.texas.gov and search for “trout stocking.”
JAN. 29
Blanco State Park: Texas Parks & Wildlife Department rainbow trout stocking. For regulations and angling tips, click on tpwd.texas.gov and search for “trout stocking.”
FEB. 1
Lake Corpus Christi, Mathis: Texas Parks & Wildlife Department rainbow trout stocking. For regulations and angling tips, click on tpwd.texas.gov and search for “trout stocking.”
FEB. 11-14
Dallas Safari Club: Annual Convention & Sporting Expo, Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, Dallas. Speakers, seminars, outfitters and gear. Click on biggame.org.
FEB. 13
Laredo Birding Festival: Ninth annual event offers expert speakers and workshops on Zoom, 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., $25. Click on laredobirdingfestival.org.
FEB. 21
Landmark Inn State Historical Site, Castroville: Texas Parks & Wildlife Department rainbow trout stocking. For regulations and angling tips, click on tpwd.texas.gov and search for “trout stocking.”
FEB. 26-28
Houston Safari Club: Annual Worldwide Hunting Expo & Convention, George R. Brown Convention Center, Houston. Speakers, seminars, outfitters and gear. Click on houstonsafariclub.org.
MARCH 5-6
Texas Trophy Hunters Association: