Ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge, Texas

Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge is the largest protected area of natural habitat left in the Lower

Rio Grande Valley The Lower Rio Grande Valley ( es, Valle del Río Grande), commonly known as the Rio Grande Valley or locally as the Valley or RGV, is a region spanning the border of Texas and Mexico located in a floodplain of the Rio Grande near its mouth. The ...

. The refuge is located almost entirely in

Cameron County, Texas Cameron County, officially the County of Cameron, is the southernmost county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 421,017. Its county seat is Brownsville. The county was founded in 1848 and is named for Capt ...

(near Harlingen), although a very small part of its northernmost point extends into southern

Willacy County Willacy County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 20,164. Its county seat is Raymondville. The county was created in 1911 and organized the next year. Willacy County comprises the Raymondville m ...

Fauna

The Peregrine Fund The Peregrine Fund (named after the bird of prey of the same name the peregrine falcon) is a non-profit organization founded in 1970 that conserves threatened and endangered birds of prey worldwide. The successful recovery of the peregrine falco ...

began

reintroducing Species reintroduction is the deliberate release of a species into the wild, from captivity or other areas where the organism is capable of survival. The goal of species reintroduction is to establish a healthy, genetically diverse, self-sustainin ...

captive-bred northern aplomado falcons (''Falco femoralis septentrionalis'') to the refuge in 1985, which had been nearly

extirpated Local extinction, also known as extirpation, refers to a species (or other taxon) of plant or animal that ceases to exist in a chosen geographic area of study, though it still exists elsewhere. Local extinctions are contrasted with global extinct ...

from the

Southwestern United States The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural region of the United States that generally includes Arizona, New Mexico, and adjacent portions of California, Colorado, Ne ...

; today, it is home to 26 pairs. Nine other

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inva ...

threatened species Threatened species are any species (including animals, plants and fungi) which are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future. Species that are threatened are sometimes characterised by the population dynamics measure of ''critical depensa ...

inhabit the refuge, such as the Texas ocelot (''Leopardus pardalis albescens'') and (formerly) the Gulf Coast jaguarundi (''Herpailurus yagouaroundi''), rare wild

cats The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of t ...

. Programs at the refuge include vegetation and

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

restoration.

References

External links

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
National Wildlife Refuges in Texas Lower Rio Grande Valley Wetlands of Texas Protected areas of Cameron County, Texas Protected areas of Willacy County, Texas Landforms of Cameron County, Texas Landforms of Willacy County, Texas Protected areas established in 1946 1946 establishments in Texas {{Texas-protected-area-stub

Fauna

See also

References

External links