LOCAL WILDLIFE
In the Texas Hill Country Area

In Central Texas there are White Tailed Deer, Armadillos, Foxes, Coyotes, Raccoons, Ringtails, Opossums, Rabbits, Squirrels and many other kinds of wildlife.

white tailed deer

Fawn photo by Bob Smith
Photo courtesy of Bob Smith

 

 The most popular animal in Texas is probably the white tailed deer.  With over 4,500,000 deer in Texas, tourists are sure to see a few on their drive through the area. 

Llano County, in the Texas Hill Country of central Texas, is the Deer Capital of Texas and the deer roam freely around the ranches and even in some of the neighborhoods of the small towns.

The bucks usually lose their antlers around March of each year and then regrow a new larger set of antlers.  During summer, as the antlers are growing, they are covered with velvet.  During rutting season in the fall, after the new antlers are full grown, the antlers lose the velvet.  Young yearling bucks usually start out with spike to 6 point antlers for their first set, and they get more points each year as the bucks mature into bigger, stronger bucks.

For a slide show of deer photos - click here.

 
armadillo picture

 

 The tourists always enjoy the armadillos. They can be spotted in the ditches beside the country roads and highways. They are a very unusual animal and one you won't forget seeing.  Supposedly they date back to the age of the dinosaurs.

 
ringtail picture Ringtails are another unusual animal. It has a head like a fox, a tail like a raccoon and a body like a squirrel. It is a little bigger than a squirrel and from a distance looks like a squirrel with a big striped, fluffy tail. It is nocturnal, but can be seen during the daylight also.

squirrels
Photo courtesy of Bob Smith

There are at least three kinds of squirrels in the Texas Hill Country Area of central Texas.  The grey and red squirrels are very common, and the black, ground squirrel is also abundant.  You can find all three types feeding in the same locations. The squirrels love the pecan trees in the Texas Hill Country.  Many people put up squirrel houses and squirrel feeders in their back yards to attract the squirrels.  Squirrels can be very entertaining.  

raccoon picture Although raccoons are noctural they can occassionally be spotted in the early evening.  The raccoon in the photo would come regularly for its evening meal in Horseshoe Bay.

Raccoons can be spotted along the country roads at night in the Texas Hill Country.
opposum Opossums are also nocturnal creatures that are found in the Texas Hill Country.

This opossum was a regular nightly visitor to a home in Horseshoe Bay West.  It would have to compete with the raccoon above for his nightly meal.

Grey Fox
Grey Fox Photo by Karen Cunningham

Karen Cunningham said about the fox in the photo above, "I live near Pace Bend Park on Lake Travis and this fox visits us regularly.  We call her Limpy because she limps!    She's even let us sit on our porch and talk to her when she's about 25 ft away.   When we've put out some pieces of bread, she's come within 10 feet of our porch, with us sitting there."

Three types of foxes were seen in Horseshoe Bay West by a resident there.  Three baby red foxes were playing in one of the streets as he drove over the hill.  They ran down the street in front of his car quite a distance before hiding behind the trees.  Grey foxes were spotted on several occassions.  A kit fox was hunting for bugs along side the road, and went about feeding undisturbed, ignoring the interested resident watching the fox from as close as only 30 feet away.

bobcat picture

 

 Bobcats are in Texas but are very rarely spotted.

A tame bobcat lived in the Texas Hill Country and the owner would take it for walks on a leash around the area.  This photo was taken in a feed store in Marble Falls several years ago.

 
lizzard picture
             Photo courtesy of Bob Smith

 

 There are a few interesting types of lizards in the central Texas Hill Country. The cute little chameleons and geckos are the most popular.

 

longhorn  llama
Although Texas Longhorns and Llamas are not really wildlife,
they are interesting animals and do attract a lot of attention.

 

If you have photos or information on wildlife in the Hill Country of central Texas
that you want to share with us, please email us at hal@highlandlakes.com


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