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Season 1 Episode 3 Dr. Henke.Mp3 Season 1 Episode 3 Dr. Henke.mp3 Dr. Sandra Rideout-Hanzak [00:00:21] Hello, welcome to a Talk on the Wild Side, your biweekly tour of All Things Wild in Texas. I'm your host, Dr. Sandra Rideout-Hanzak. Rebecca Zerlin [00:00:30] And I am your co-host, not a doctor, Rebecca Zerlin. Dr. Sandra Rideout-Hanzak [00:00:35] We have a really entertaining guest today. And we're going to be talking about Texas horned lizards, coyotes and roadrunners (BeeP- BeeP!). It's so fun because you might be reminded of your Saturday morning cartoon days if you're my age, and some of you won't get that reference. Rebecca Zerlin [00:00:54] But, oh, I do. I watched a lot of cartoons in PreParation for this interview. I don't know about you, Andrew? (Laughter). Andrew Lowery [00:01:02] Yeah, I currently have them streaming on my Phone as we speak. (Laughter). Rebecca Zerlin [00:01:06] What do we Pay you for? (Laughter). Dr. Sandra Rideout-Hanzak [00:01:07] Yeah, we had no idea we were going to go down the cartoon route, but we did. OK. But first we have our What's Wild and New segment, where we talk about just newsworthy events in conservation that are very recent. And Andrew Lowery, our technician, has What's Wild and New for us. Andrew Lowery [00:01:27] OK, guys. So this week, researchers in France's North Sea Fishery Research Unit have determined that coelacanths can actually live nearly a century. Previously, we thought them only to live about 20 years or so. So the researchers, what they did was, they examined 27 museum sPecimens, and they were able to determine that these animals might actually live for uPwards of 100 years. They also found out they don't mature until about 55 years old, and the embryos that they studied were uP to five years old. Now, what that means to you and I is coelacanth mothers may be carrying these babies for five years. Rebecca Zerlin [00:02:08] That's insane! Andrew Lowery [00:02:09] That is insane! Dr. Sandra Rideout-Hanzak [00:02:10] It is insane! Yes. And and I don't even want to think about that. (Laughter). Dr. Sandra Rideout-Hanzak [00:02:16] No, no, that's just sounds wrong. But the fact that they have to be fifty five years old before they can mature and reProduce, that's I think even crazier. Well, I don't know, maybe not crazier than gestation Period of five years. Andrew Lowery [00:02:31] I mean, it's crazy, though. I mean, you know, you look at some of the struggles, alligator gar and Sturgeon and have had with their breeding Programs and research, you find that you really need these big fish in the ecosystem, big old fish in the ecosystem to be able to keeP it functional. Dr. Sandra Rideout-Hanzak [00:02:45] Well, now we're going to move on to our next segment, which is called Becca's Breakdown, where Rebecca breaks it down for us and she likes to have breakdowns. She is a graduate student. So here's Becca's breakdown. Rebecca Zerlin [00:02:59] because what is grad school without a breakdown? Today, one of the species we'll be discussing is listed as a threatened sPecies in Texas but is not listed as threatened federally. What the BLEEP does that mean? First of all, we need to define what a threatened or endangered species is. Definition time, a threatened species. It's a species that is considered likely to become endangered in the foreseeable future, as oPPosed to an endangered sPecies, which is one that is considered likely to become extinct or locally extirPated in the near future definition. Within the definition time, extirPation just means a local extinction. That is, a species still exist in the wild, but has gone from a Particular area such as Plains bison in north-central Texas, or wolves from many states in the United States. There is a list of federally endangered species, and a seParate list of state endangered species, for most states. But these lists don't always match. And it's not just because state and federal agencies don't always see eye to eye on things. It might just mean that a sPecies is struggling in one state within its range, but not others. To be specific, a sPecies that was listed by the state of Texas, but not listed federally, would be Protected under state law. While a federally Protected species would be Protected under the Federal Endangered SPecies Act. OK, so we have the state saying one thing, but the federal government saying another. This sounds confusing. How do we know what's what? counselors, aPProach the bench. A federal listing Protects an animal throughout its entire range within the United States, and includes all states where that species is found. A species that is listed in a Particular state, but not federally, is only Protected within the state that it's listed. Let's learn about some laws, shall we? Federally, the Endangered SPecies Act defines the term "take," as to harass, harm, Pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, traP, caPture, collect or to attemPt to engage in any such conduct. Remember, this aPPlies to any state, not a federally listed species is found. A Texas state listing Prohibits the intentional take, Possession, transportation or sale of any animal species listed as threatened or endangered within the state. Texas might list a species as threatened to be able to Prioritize, and Protect, it in an attemPt to keeP it from either becoming endangered within the state or needing federal listing. Now that you're a regular Erin Brockovich, go forth and Protect all the listed species. And by Protect, I mean, don't touch them. Dr. Sandra Rideout-Hanzak [00:05:42] Well, today we're talking with Dr. Scott Henke. Dr. Henke is a regents Professor. He's the chair of the DePartment of Rangeland and Wildlife Sciences. He's a research scientist in the caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute at Texas A&M-Kingsville. Dr. Henke, welcome to our Podcast. We really aPPreciate you being here. Dr. Scott Henke [00:06:01] Well, thank you for inviting me. I greatly aPPreciate it. Dr. Sandra Rideout-Hanzak [00:06:03] Well, first, let's start with just tell us what you do as a research scientist. Dr. Scott Henke [00:06:07] My specialty is wildlife disease, especially zoonotic diseases, things that go from wildlife to animal sPecies to humans and also do some nuisance species work. And lately, not by any kind of design, but I've been doing a lot more rePtile type research. Dr. Sandra Rideout-Hanzak [00:06:27] OK, yeah, that's that's suPer interesting. You mentioned nuisance. What kind of wildlife do we consider nuisances? Dr. Scott Henke [00:06:37] Anything that might cause Problems for humans. The disease aspect is considered to be a nuisance for humans. When it...any type of disease work that can go from wildlife to humans is considered a nuisance tyPe of thing. Raccoons Potentially have been considered a nuisance, where they might get into a residential area trash cans and things and cause issues. We've had some alligator Projects, where alligators, when they're especially the young males are roaming, or when they're looking for their own territory, they'll go to various Parks in neighborhoods and such. And as they're wandering around, they might take a rest in somebody's backyard or garage. We've had a number of calls where PeoPle were trying to go to work and there is an alligator in their garage. And so we Pick those uP to remove those for some folks. Rebecca Zerlin [00:07:29] I'm going to use that as my next excuse. Dr. Sandra Rideout-Hanzak [00:07:31] Some folks are just you know, they're just unwilling to share their garage. Dr. Scott Henke [00:07:36] Well, there's other doors. You know, if it's by the front door of your car, you can use a side door. You know. (Laughter). Rebecca Zerlin [00:07:41] OK. So we want to hear about some of your research today. And we're going to start with an iconic Texas species, the Texas horned lizard. First, can you tell our listeners what a horn lizard is, where they live? What do they eat? Tell us all about them. Dr. Scott Henke [00:07:57] Oh, OK. Well, Texas horned lizards, PeoPle Probably more commonly known, know them as horny toads. I think that's more common to call them that in Texas. But they actually are lizards, you know, not a real toad. They're not an amPhibian, like a frog or a toad would be. There are actually a lizard, a rePtile. And we actually have three different species in Texas. We have the Texas horned lizard, the round tailed lizard and the mountain shorthorn lizard that occur in Texas. Now, you can tell the difference between those the three species by just looking at the little fringe scales that they have on the side. They have like little scales that kind of Protrude off their sides. If you have two rows of fringed scales on the side, that's a Texas horned lizard.
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