Encountering Texas Wildlife: Javelinas, Moths, and Wildflowers

We had quite the wildlife sanctuary at our first gate.

The first animals we saw were Javelinas. They look like a pig but not quite. Here is an site that will explain what Javelina are. Texas Parks and Wildlife I think they are cute others will disagree. I would never go try to pet one or make friends as they are fierce little beings. While we were at the gate I read a news article where a Texas woman was killed by one walking to her mail box. When they have babies they are very mean!

I was very excited to see them because I had only seen them in a zoo setting. This was quite a large group of 8 that came thru the gate almost nightly until the big storm.

We also had bugs and huge moths. I guess it is true what they say about things being bigger in Texas. We also had big ant mounds. I did my best to deter them from getting to close to the Cougar. For the most part it worked. We didn’t have any infestations.

There was a really beautiful white moth. I took some photos of them and a few other bugs. The yellow moth would be all tightly sealed up. When you touched its wing tips it would open up and the amazing circles would show. We tried to get them out of the way, usually across the street into the brush so they would not get run over by the trucks coming and going. With our bright lights at night it was a bug haven!

With the rains came some beautiful wild flowers. They were just going into bloom when we were about ready to leave this gate. It really made the Texas landscape pop!

There were other critters and bugs that I didn’t get photos of. By the time I picked up my phone they were gone. Brian was able to see Racoons, Fox, Coyotes, lots of Rabbits, Deer and Wild Turkeys.

Please leave a comment below. We would love to know what animals, critters or plants are in your area.