55 zoo-raised and rescued Texas horned lizards return to the wild
San Antonio Zoo and Zoo Miami released them on a Texas ranch on 26 October: 25 came from Miami, 2 hatched in San Antonio and 28 were rescued earlier this year. The reintroduction project has now returned 428 lizards since 2017. The species has been declining for six decades, and researchers have seen earlier releases survive and show signs of breeding.
They fit in the palm of a hand. On Monday 26 October, teams from San Antonio Zoo and Zoo Miami crouched in the grass on a Texas ranch and opened their hands: 55 Texas horned lizards went back to the wild, KSAT and the San Antonio Current reported.
They did not all come from the same place. Twenty-five were raised at Zoo Miami, two hatched at San Antonio Zoo and 28 were rescued from another Texas ranch earlier this year.
One of the released lizards on the ranch. Photo courtesy of San Antonio Zoo.
The state reptile, back home
The Texas horned lizard, or “horny toad”, has been the official state reptile since 1993. It has been vanishing from much of its native range for six decades, which officials put down to habitat loss, pesticides and invasive species such as red imported fire ants, according to the San Antonio Current.
San Antonio Zoo’s Center for Conservation and Research has led the reintroduction project since 2017. With this release it has returned 428 lizards to the wild; another 24 were released earlier in October.
The team from San Antonio Zoo’s Center for Conservation and Research carries the lizards to the release site. Photo courtesy of San Antonio Zoo.
Surviving, and probably breeding
What matters is what happens next. Zoo researchers have documented that lizards released in earlier years survive, and have seen signs that they are breeding and spreading beyond the release site, the San Antonio Current reported. For now these are signs, not a population count.
“For so many Texans, the horny toad is a special part of growing up in this state,” said Tim Morrow, San Antonio Zoo’s president and CEO. “Seeing these animals return to the wild is a reminder of why conservation matters.”
Built-in camouflage: another of the lizards in the grass after the release. Photo courtesy of San Antonio Zoo.
The teams that took part in the 26 October release. Photo courtesy of San Antonio Zoo.
The release is part of the Texas Horned Lizard Reintroduction Project, which San Antonio Zoo and Zoo Miami run to bring the species back to areas where it has declined.
