New Photos of the Lampasas River Alligator

Eric Dominowski, the fisherman who spotted an alligator in the Lampasas River above Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir last week, read my post on the incident and contacted me via email. Eric was kind enough to answer a couple of questions about the sighting and offered to send me several photos not published by the Killeen Daily Herald in their article last week.

Mr. Dominowski said he was approximately 25 feet from the gator when he started snapping pictures. He said as they moved closer the gator slipped into the water and disappeared. He did not see it surface again though he admits to not hanging around very long to look for it. Mr. Dominowski estimates the alligator was at least 6 feet long.

Judging by the photos below this is a very healthy alligator. The width of its head, neck, and back are impressive. I was also impressed with the thickness of this alligator's tail. This guy seems to be doing just fine in the Lampasas River. There is nothing in the photos to judge the size of the gator accurately but the characteristics seen in this specimen lead me to believe it is decent sized and, while possibly young, no mere juvenile. It would not surprise me a bit if it turns out Mr. Dominowski's estimate on its length turns out to be on the low side.

Enjoy the pictures below. As far as I know this is the only place online that you will be able to see them. A big thank you to Eric Dominowski for allowing me to post the pictures here.

Sky Island Alliance Releases Photo of Arizona Ocelot

Sky Island Alliance has issued a press release regarding the ocelot that was photographed in Cochise County, Arizona in November of last year. The actual photograph of the rare cat has also been released. Below is the press release and the photo. You can click on the press release to increase it in size for easier reading.







Pretty cool stuff.

Austin's Giant Carp Just Another Fish Story

A recent April Fool's joke seems to have taken on a life of its own here in Central Texas. The story of a giant carp, dubbed "Carpie", inhabiting Lady Bird Lake (formerly known as Town Lake) in Austin, Texas was put out by local television station News Channel 8 on April 1 of this year. It is symbolic that the station chose a fish story for their April Fool's Day prank as it seems many have swallowed it hook, line, and sinker. The tale has continued to thrive and I've actually received two emails from readers asking if I knew anything about this fish. So, catch yourself up by viewing the original news broadcast of the "story" here.

A YouTube video, embedded below, features several people, including Austin's Mayor Lee Leffingham, who claim to have seen the enormous carp prowling the shoreline of Lady Bird Lake. This video, in conjunction with the News Channel 8 "report", had many monster carp hunters mobilizing for a move on Lady Bird Lake.



I have to hand it to News Channel 8. The hoax was a good one. It was depicted in a real enough fashion to fool a lot of folks yet tongue in cheek enough to be seen through by most with any outdoor experience. Also, the prank did not seek to make fun of anyone. So, I have no problem with it. Other than a few red faces there was no harm done.

It should be noted that Lady Bird Lake has a reputation as being one of the best 2-3 spots in the country to land big carp. As a matter of fact the Texas state record carp, weighing in at a monstrous 43 lb. 12 oz., was hauled out of Lady Bird Lake by a gentleman named K.C. Crawford. Lobbying efforts are underway by several carp fishing groups to tag Lady Bird Lake as a trophy fishery for carp. This would ensure a catch and release only policy on this species in the lake.



Lady Bird Lake's reputation as a big carp fishery, no doubt, played a part in some folks buying into the April Fool's joke. So, if you got fooled just shrug it off and have a good laugh. They gotcha this time but, rest assured, there is no 15 ft. long monster carp lurking in Lady Bird Lake....

I think.

Alligator Spotted in Lampasas River

A six foot long alligator has been spotted in the Lampasas River north of Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir. The gator was seen twice by a local fisherman named Eric Dominowski last week. Dominowski put his boat in on the main lake and headed upstream to fish for spawning white bass and/or crappie when he spotted the gator. You can read the newspaper account, written by Mason W. Canales, of the sighting on the Killeen Daily Herald's website here.

Dominowski said, "It was pretty far upriver. Both times we were up there the gator was lying out there on the bank pretty close to the water...When we got up there he got into the water and we bolted out of there because we couldn't see him."

The fisherman was spooked by the alligator's presence and added that he had heard stories about their being present in the Lampasas and Stillhouse Hollow but never believed them.

Texas Parks & Wildlife game warden, Fred Churchill said, "It is not uncommon to have alligators there. Reports range in size from anywhere between four and ten feet." Churchill would add, "They are not a problem. There are no issues with them. They are just part of the natural habitat to be in the river...They are just cohabitating with all the other wildlife in the area."

I have lived in central Texas since 1987 and have always heard tales of alligators in local rivers and creeks. Most of those stories centered around Salado Creek, Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir, and the Lampasas River. Interestingly, I have never heard of anyone claiming to have seen an alligator in Lake Belton which is only five miles north of Stillhouse. According to Dan Thomasson, the Army Corp of Engineer Lake Manager for both Stillhouse Hollow and Lake Belton, reports of alligators have been coming in for 10 years.



"The reports that we have gotten have all been in the river above the lake. We have never gotten reports of an alligator being in the main body of the lake," said Thomasson.

Game warden Churchill's statement about an alligator living in the Lampasas River not being anything unusual is accurate...sort of. If you look at the graphics below you will see that, while the area where this gator was seen is included as established alligator habitat, it is on the extreme western edge of where they are normally spotted. I would also submit that if the alligators are in the Lampasas River north of the main lake it is likely only a matter of time before they venture down to the reservoir itself. That is, if they haven't already done so.





I would agree with Churchill's assertion that the presence of alligators in the Lampasas River, and even in the main lake, for that matter, is not a reason for concern. Use a little common sense and there should be nothing to worry about. As is the case with most wild animals, if you are aware they are around and take appropriate precautions you are unlikely to have any trouble. To the contrary, I think the presence of alligators in the area is a positive sign. It points to a healthy ecosystem.

So, fishermen, keep your eyes open and have those cameras ready. If you see any alligators in the central Texas area I would love to hear about it and would also be glad to post your pictures on this site.

Rare Ocelot Photographed in Arizona

Those of you who follow such things have probably already read that a rare ocelot has been photographed in Arizona. The photograph once again proves the validity of using remote cameras or camera traps as a legitimate research tool. You can read the full story as it was originally printed on the Sky Island Alliance website here.

The ocelot photograph was snapped in Cochise County, Arizona by a game camera belonging to the Tucson-based conservation group Sky Island Alliance. The group has set out multiple cameras in the Sky Island region of Arizona along wildlife corridors in the hopes of capturing photos of rare wildlife. The project is part of the Witness For Wildlife program sponsored by the Freedom to Roam Coalition and the Patagonia Outdoor Clothing Company. Volunteer members of the group retrieved the images from a camera placed in a remote location. The photograph of the ocelot was dated November 7, 2009.

This is the first time an ocelot has ever been documented in Arizona. The area where the cat was photographed is at least a couple of hundred miles farther north than would be expected. Ocelots are native to northern Mexico and south Texas but have become increasingly rare in recent years. The discovery of this cat in Arizona is as exciting as it is surprising.

Once again, the value of remotely placed camera traps has been proven. The chances of a human seeing and photographing this ocelot were practically nil. Camera trapping is a tremendous tool in efforts to document what species are inhabiting certain areas. It is my hope that, as more cameras of a higher quality are placed in remote locations, we will make some amazing discoveries.

I believe we are going to continue to be surprised...

The Legend of Ol' Mossyback

And now for something completely different...

I watched the old horror movie Pumpkinhead on television the other day. I have to admit to really liking this movie. I know in some ways it is a typical monster movie where rude and crude teenagers get what is coming to them. However, there is a lot of really creepy atmospheric stuff going on in this movie that you don't see in a lot of other films. The old pumpkin patch cemetery, the old witch that lives alone in the swamp that can "help" you for a price, and, not least of all, the weird kids outside the country store that chant the folkloric poem about "Pumpkinhead".

I don't know if the "Pumpkinhead" poem is real or if it was created for the movie. I do know that folktales along these lines are not uncommon. The whole thing kind of got me thinking about some of the old tales I heard growing up in Southeast Texas. There were lots of really creepy stories. The ghost of Sarah Jane Road in Port Neches, the phantom Civil War battles said to still rage on nights when the moon is full at the site of the Battle of Sabine Pass, and the legendary lights of Bragg Road in Saratoga were all tales that held me transfixed as a youngster. To be honest, they still do. However, the story that fascinated me the most, and the one I thought about the most often while playing in the Piney Woods, was the story of the Raggedy Man or Ol' Mossyback, the legendary wild man of the Big Thicket.

So, inspired by the creepy hick kids in the movie, I decided to try my hand at writing a poem about this legend that people still whisper about today. I'm not much of a poet but my best effort is below. If you decide to comment...well, be kind.

Ol' Mossyback

Way down south where panthers prowl, gators lurk,
And the bayou waters roll black
A nightmare stalks the bogs and swamps
A legend called Ol' Mossyback.

The Karankawas spoke of him in whispers
And they knew too well to stay away
For the tangled thicket belonged to him
As it does to this very day.

Later, the lawless tried to take refuge here
For bravado they did not lack
Most did not last long, however, as they fell prey
To the justice of Ol' Mossyback.

Homesteaders would follow soon
And they, too, would come to know his name.
But their efforts to clear the land and rid themselves of him
Would all end up in vain.

Loggers, ranchers, farmers, oil, and railroad men
All have crossed this Raggedy Man's path.
They trod carefully and only whispered his name
So as not to risk his wrath.

So, if you are ever in the thicket after dark
I hope that courage you do not lack
For those might not be two fireflies shining red
But the eyes of Ol' Mossy Back.

Cornell Ends Search For Ivory-Billed Woodpecker

Some sad news...

It seems that the Cornell Lab of Ornithology is officially giving up on the Ivory-billed Woodpecker. According to an article on the Discovery News website, written by Jorge Ribas, biologists are giving up their search for a remnant population of the legendary birds. The article, written by Jorge Ribas, can be read in its entirety here.

Ron Rohrbaugh, director of the Cornell Lab, said, "The preliminary conclusion we've come up with at this point is that it's unlikely that there are recoverable populations of Ivory-billed Woodpeckers in those places that have received significant search efforts over the past five years." Despite sighting reports and extensive searches in the Black Swamp of Arkansas no definitive evidence of the elusive woodpecker's existence has been found.

The searches were prompted by a video shot by David Luneau that, while a bit grainy, appeared to show a living IBW in flight. I have heard from a reliable source that most at Cornell believe the film does indeed show an Ivory-billed Woodpecker. I think this belief may be reflected in how Rohrbaugh worded his statement. He said that it was not likely there were "recoverable populations of Ivory-billed Woodpeckers." He did not say he believed the birds to be completely extinct or that the Luneau video did not show a living IBW. To the contrary, Rohrbaugh and his Cornell associates must have believed the film showed a genuine IBW to have spent so much time and money in its pursuit.

Personally, I believe the Ivory-billed Woodpecker is still out there. Whether there are enough birds left to successfully keep the species alive for ten or twenty more years I cannot say. However, if even one breeding pair is left there is hope.

There is always hope...