The long-tailed weasel is another animal I have never heard a report of anywhere in Texas, but according to the book, they are present statewide with the exception of portions of the Panhandle.

    They are reported as being, a “slender, long-bodied carnivore with small head, long neck, short legs, and relatively long, slender tail; upperparts yellowish-brown; head blackish; spot between eyes, broad band (confluent with color of underparts) on each side of head between ear and eye, chin and upper lip white.

     The tip of their tail is black and while their underparts are

“orange buff, which color extends down back of front legs over forefeet and on inside of hind legs to foot and sometimes onto toes.”

    The grizzly bear is another such mysterious Texas animal or it was at one point in time.

    “Only two specimens of grizzly bears are available from Texas.

According to Vernon Bailey, who wrote of this bear in his Biological Survey of Texas, a large and very old male grizzly was killed in the Davis Mountains in October, 1890 by C. O. Finley and John Z. Means.”

    “Mr. Finley reported that the claws on the front feet were about 31/2 inches long, and the color of the bear was brown with gray tips to the hairs. Its weight was estimated at 1,100 pounds "if it had been fat."

    The book also details that a Walter Dalquest reported, “examining the partial skull of a grizzly bear that had washed out on the banks of the Red River (Montague County) about 1950. This specimen has since been lost.”

    Texas despite its growing human population still has lots of wildlife habitat and it is sanctuary for many fascinating creatures. One thing I have learned in a lifetime of wildlife study is that animals cannot read maps and just because some books show them with a limited range does not mean they can’t cross a county line and head into new territory.

   You can check out the online edition of the Mammals of Texas

http://www.nsrl.ttu.edu/tmot1/

Chester Moore, Jr. is the Port Arthur News Outdoors Editor. To contact Chester Moore, e-mail him at saltwater@fishgame.com. You can hear him on the radio Fridays from 6-7 p.m. on Newstalk AM 560 KLVI or online at www.klvi.com.