Aren’t White Animals Albino?

The short answer is no. There are three major categories of white animals. The first is genetically white – white tigers receive a recessive white allele from each parent. If two white tigers mate, then all the offspring will be white. A heterozygous normal phenotype mated with a white phenotype would yield half normal and [...]

Nature’s Nuclear Deterrent

The Wildlife Center continues to receive wildlife that was displaced by the recent rains. Mom has moved her kits to the second most safe place she knows…but because of her natural perfume (skunks always smell a little like…well, skunk) the humans and dogs know she’s moved in. This rarely ends well for either party.
An interesting [...]

Recent Rains

The recent rains have knocked all sorts of babies from their nests and rising water is forcing ground dwellers (including ants!) to move to higher ground. CLICK HERE to see a brief video interview of Debbie Mitchell (Staff Wildlife Center) by Meera Nandlal (Spokesperson Houston SPCA) concerning the impact of the recent rains on wildlife. [...]

The Hawk that isn’t a Hawk

The life history of the Common Nighthawk is so tightly tied to our own that it is amazing how successfully they fly “under the radar”. They have adapted so completely to our urbanization of their environment there is not a grocery store or shopping mall that isn’t patrolled by these voracious insect eaters. Normally crepuscular [...]

Home Sweet Home

The three armadillo brothers that were raised at the Wildlife Center since they were a couple of days old were taken to a remote site that already has armadillo on it for release. It was wonderful to witness these unusual mammals grow, change and learn. Watching their instinctual behavior emerge gave us confidence that these boys would [...]

Under Their Wing

WR&E has ongoing relationships with homeowners that have the same issue year after year with nesting birds on their property. Usually the birds in question are those with strong site fidelity such as hawks, owls and herons.
One family has taken Red-Shouldered Hawks “under their wing”. Each year nestlings and fledglings get blown or shoved out [...]

Two for Tea

Young mammals may appear lost and alone while they explore or wait for parents to return from foraging for food nearby. This is especially true for deer and rabbits who intentionally do not remain with their baby(ies) during the day. Every year the Wildlife Center receives hundreds of babies that were kidnapped from their parents [...]

Mountains out of Molehills

The Wildlife Center had a first this week – Moles! Volunteers were shocked at what beautiful fur they had. The person who rescued them was performing excavation work when they inadvertently dug into their den. Moles have unusual fur in that it doesn’t have a nap. In other words, the fur doesn’t lay in one [...]

Just Slithering Past

The Garter Snake has a distribution that is the largest of any reptile in North America. They range from Canada to Central America. There are so many sub-species and color variations within species that it would be difficult to describe, except that they all have 3 racing stripes that run from the neck to the [...]

Mommy, What’s that Pink Bird?

The Roseate Spoonbill is relatively common in the Gulf Coast area, but only a few per year wind up at the Wildlife Center. This magnificent bird is in full breeding plumage; note brilliant pink patch on the breast and the overall vibrant coloration. A relatively large wading bird, they can stand almost three feet tall [...]

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