Texas Drought Threatens Wildlife
6/06/96
*******************************
RELAYED TEXT STARTS HERE:
Copyright 1996 Associated Press This material
may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Copyright c 1996 Cable News Network, Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Texas drought threatens wildlife
Hungry bears approach campers
June 6, 1996
EL PASO, Texas (AP) -- Texas is still the place where the deer and
the antelope play. It's just gotten harder to find them since the
state began drying up.
A far-reaching drought is being blamed for diminishing wildlife
populations, and officials caution there could be trouble ahead if
conditions don't improve in the coming months.
The Pronghorn antelope population in West Texas is at an 18-year low.
White-tailed deer in some coastal regions may be facing a tough
summer with die-offs a possibility.
"The lack of antelope becomes very obvious," said Mike Hobson, a
state wildlife biologist.
At Big Bend National Park, the endangered peregrine falcon has shown
a steady decline, and black bears are scrounging around humans for
food.
Lack of adequate moisture can reduce reproduction, make animals
vulnerable to predators and even result in starvation, but wildlife
biologists agree many species can eventually rebound, if the dry
spell doesn't last too long.
Some situations are already critical, however. By official count,
the state only has 14 breeding pairs of peregrine falcons, and for
three years now, they have been producing fewer offspring that
survive. Last year, only three birds left the nest.
"This year we may not produce more than four to five offspring, and
that's dismal," said Big Bend wildlife specialist Raymond Skiles. "I
won't say it's catastrophic, but it's very near if they can't produce
better."
Bears get bolder
Big Bend's bear population doesn't seem to be immediately threatened
but a scarcity of food is bringing them into conflict with campers.
The park has recorded more incidents where the bears have gotten into
tents, food lockers and backpacks
"Having the bears overcoming their fear of humans is the first step
on a very dangerous road," Skiles said. "We run the risk of humans
being injured, property being damaged. At some point, something has
to give and unfortunately usually the bear does."
But Hobson said things aren't all gloom and doom. True, the estimated
Pronghorn population in the region was 7,525 last year, down from
14,826 in 1992, when the drought began in many areas. Those numbers
don't mean things won't change, however.
"We've been this low before, and antelope levels will come back,"
Hobson said. "When we do get the rainfall that we normally get and
more than we normally get, this thing will reverse itself."
The drought could become the worst natural disaster to hit Texas
this century, costing farmers and ranchers billions of dollars in
losses, state agricultural officials say.