Texas Almanac, 1949-1950 Page: 201
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NATIVE MAMMALS.
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The deer is the greatest game animal of
Annual kill is upwards of 35,000.
some degree with the cattle of these regions.
This deer is also found in the Big Thicket
and other heavily wooded parts of East Texas
where it formerly was very common. There
are other areas, in North and Central Texas,
where it would logically thrive. In recent
years the State Game Department has trans-
planted a considerable number to these favor-
able ranges. The mule deer, also called black-
tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus Rafinesque)
is found principally in the Chisos and other
mountains of the Trans-Pecos and in smaller
numbers in the less thickly settled parts of
thle Staked Plains. Its total number in the
state is only a small fraction of that of the
white-tailed deer. The American antelope
(Antilocapra americana Ord) or pronghorn
deer, is primarily a prairie animal and former-
ly ranged in vast numbers over the open
spaces of West Texas. Because of the lack of
cover it became an easy prey and was almost
extinct in Texas before protective measures
reversed the trend of its declining population.
A perpetually closed season for a number of
years raised its number and there have been
limited open seasons in 1944, 1945. 1946, 1947
and 1948. The kill has gradually increased
from 297 in 1944 to 619 in 1948. There was no
open season in 1949, however, because many
antelope were killed by the severe weather
of the winter of 1948-1949. It is most
numerous on the Diablo Plateau in the Hueco
Mountain region and in the region of the
Davis Mountains. It has also Increased In num-
ber on the Staked Plains where it has not
been subjected to open season. The little
Sonora deer (white-tailed subspecies) is found
in limited numbers in the high valley of the';%! %; :i:.;f 0 <1
is
-Photo by State Gamne Commission.
Texas. There are about 350,000 in the state.
Chisos Mountains in the Big Bend. The Cana-
dian elk (Cervus canadensis Erxleben), though
not a native of Texas, has been introduced in
recent years in the Guadalupe and Davis
Mountains and promises to become a valuable
game animal. The Texas elk have grown from
a herd of forty-four released in the McKittrick
Canyon in the Guadalupe range in 1928 by the
Hunter-Grisham Company. The elk population
was estimated at 400 or 500 in 1948.
Ferret.-The black-footed ferret (Mustela
nigripes, Audubon and Bachman) was former-
ly found widely ranging through the West
Texas country of the prairie dog on which
it preyed. It is now nearly extinct in Texas.
It is of the same genus as the weasel
and mink.
Fox.-Most common is the gray fox
(Urocyon cinereoargenteus Schreber) found in
the forested area of East Texas and elsewhere
throughout most of the state where there is
cover, notably in the broken parts of the
Edwards Plateau and the rough country at
the foot of the Staked Plains. It is the object
of most of the fox hunts, some of which have
become annual community affairs. The kit fox
(Vulpes velox Say) is found in the plains
country of Northwest Texas from the vicinity
of Midland north to the upper Panhandle.
Formerly it was much more numerous than
today. The big-eared desert fox (Vulpes
macrotis Merriam) is found in the Trans-
Pecos and is fairly numerous in localities.
The red fox (Vulpes fulva Desmarest) seem-
ingly is not a native of Texas but was intro-
duced for the purpose of sport. State Game
Department records indicate that it has not
multiplied as anticipated201
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Texas Almanac, 1949-1950, book, 1949; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth117167/m1/203/: accessed May 4, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.