Sunday, October 21, 2001

34 Rare species

Caller-Times file

The Coastal Bend has some of nature's rarest treasures - nearly a dozen endangered species, which attract scientists, good-hearted nature lovers, tourists and state, federal and private grant money.
   Whooping cranes
   Five feet tall, 7-foot wingspan, 40-year life span. They travel 2,400 miles from their nesting grounds in Wood Buffalo National Park in Canada's Northwest Territories to their winter home at the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge.
   Population
   About 400 in North America now. Fifteen in 1941.
   Visitors
   About 15,000 take boat tours, and about 70,000 visitors visit the birds' winter home at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge.
   KEMP'S RIDLEY
   Among the smallest sea turtles. Their coastal nesting habitat is threatened by beach development. A program at the Padre Island National Seashore researches the turtles, incubates eggs of nests found on the coast, releases hatchlings, attempts to imprint baby turtles with new nesting ground habits.
   Grant money
   $135,000 this past year.
   Staffers
   Three year-round researchers plus scores of seasonal volunteers.
   Nests discovered
   Eight along the Texas Gulf Coast, including four on north Padre Island and one on Mustang Island.
   Hatchlings released last year
   More than 400.
   Population
   Adult populations of Kemp's ridley turtles reached a low of 1,100 in 1985. Since then, their numbers have grown to about 9,000.
   ATTWATER PRAIRIE CHICKEN
   Wild fowl that live in grasslands and coastal areas, aren't related to chickens but are a type of grouse, in danger because of loss of habitat. Prairie chickens do not migrate.
   Anatomy
   About 16.5 to 18 inches long, weighs about 1.5 to 2 pounds, has a 28-inch wingspan.
   Diet
   Leaves, seeds, rose hips, insects.
   Population
   No more than a few score remain in the wild. Estimates put the population at fewer than 50. Some live on private lands, but most live in reserves in Eagle Lake and in Galveston County.
   SOUTH TEXAS AMBROSIA
   Flowering plant that grows to between 6 inches and 1 foot in height. Its habitat has been located in portions of Nueces and Kleberg counties.
   Reproduction
   Flowers are inconspicuous with male and female flowers separate on the same plant. Asexual reproduction from rhizomes is common.
   Population
   Last year, there were about 550 plants counted in the wild.
   Other endangered species
   Brown pelican, Hawksbill sea turtle, Jaguarundi, Leatherback sea turtle, Northern aplomado falcon, Ocelot
  
  

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