TopFrog
Lifelong Frog
First Texas horned lizards bred in captivity could save declining species
by: Suzanne Freeman
Awaiting the warmth of spring, about 30 baby Texas horned lizards with radio tags glued to their backs are burrowed in for the winter 2-4 inches underground in Mason County. At least, that’s what researchers with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, the Fort Worth Zoo, and Texas Christian University are counting on.
“We hope a bunch of them will be out there come spring,” said Jim Gallagher, a natural resource specialist at the Mason Mountain Wildlife Management Area, a TPWD property. “The problem with these itty-bitty guys is that they grow so fast. They shed their skin every two to three weeks and tend to lose their tags.”
Researchers are using a recently upgraded harmonic radar system to track the lizards. The summer of 2018 was the first time captive-hatched lizards were tagged and released into the wild. About 130 were released and, of those, around 30 were tagged. A second, larger group was released in September 2019. Antenna strips that can be tracked with small, handheld receivers were glued onto the backs of a select group of lizards.
Read more at https://www.dailytrib.com/2020/01/1...ed-in-captivity-could-save-declining-species/
