|
Project List |
|
This is a picture of a Critter Camera. Clicking on the image will take you to photos captured by the Critter Camera and a Critter Cam log where you will record Critter Camera data. |
|
Bird Banding at Cactus Creek Ranch: |
|
Saving the ocelots is focus of Sunday event BY JACQUELINE ARMENDARIZ THE BROWNSVILLE HERALD, SATURDAY, APRIL 30, 2011 Sunday is a chance for Brownsville to help protect something so rare it’s only found in South Texas. In an effort to help the 50 ocelots in the world who call this area home, residents can visit the Ocelot Conservation Festival taking place from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday at Dean Porter Park, said Nancy Brown, public outreach specialist with the South Texas Refuge Complex. “This is introducing everyone to a wild neighbor that they have,” Brown said. “These little cats are a part of the culture and the history of the area, and people just don’t know about them.” The endangered species is now found only in South Texas and remains threatened because of its small numbers, she said. The wildcats are sometimes killed as motorists speed on roads like FM 106 that go through its habitat. At the festival, a live captive ocelot named Sihil from the Cincinnati Zoo will have five shows during the day. There will be educational booths and a chance to play soccer. The event is sponsored by the Friends of Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge, Rio Grande Valley Ocelots FC and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. The festival was previously held in Harlingen. Now there are plans to rotate the event among other Valley cities. Brown said the species’ territory once extended from here north to Arkansas and Louisiana.
‘These little cats are a part of the culture and the history of the area, and people just don’t know about them.’ Nancy Brown, public outreach specialist with the South Texas Refuge Complex. Today, ocelots roam through the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge in Los Fresnos. Valley residents, Brown said, are the caretakers of ocelots and efforts must be made to protect the animals and raise awareness about the species beyond the single the day the festival takes place. For Mary Jo Bogatto, conservation is prompted by a personal connection with nature. She owns Cactus Creek Ranch, a conservation area founded on the west boundary of the Laguna Atascosa refuge. “Everything I’ve done for the outdoors is something that I’ve wanted to give back, because I feel the outdoors is my home and the critters are my family and I want to do everything I can to protect them,” she said. This month she was honored by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. For her efforts in founding the Ocelot Conservation Festival and more, Bogatto was named a Lone Star Land Steward with special recognition for education and outreach. She will receive her award in Austin in May. She said ocelots continue to be in danger with the threat of cars running them over in their own habitat, but she is working with the Texas Department of Transportation to allow for underground pathways that would help them cross roads safely. “We’ve progressed in knowledge and education, but losing animals on those roads is something that we really need to look into,” she said. On Sunday, seeing an ocelot in person, she said, will likely make adults and youth realize the importance of saving the creatures. “Looking into their eyes will tell you a story all their own,” she said. “Let them look into that cat’s eyes and they’re going to know what they have to do.” A Facebook page dedicated to saving the ocelots can be found at “Viva the Ocelot!”
WHEN: Sunday, 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. WHERE: Dean Porter Park SHOW TIMES: 11 a.m., noon, 1p.m., 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. ADMISSION: $5 for adults, $3 for children (4-12 years old), free for children 3 and under MORE INFO: (956) 748-3607 or www.friendsofsouthtexasrefuges.org
|
Brownsville breaks Guinness world record with 2,206 anglers
|
