A new mural celebrating the habitat restoration and conservation initiatives implemented by the City of McAllen at Quinta Mazatlán to protect the iconic and at-risk monarch butterfly was unveiled earlier today by Mayor Javier Villalobos. The artwork, titled “Destino Monarco” after the National Wildlife Federation’s monarch conservation plan, was created by the renowned artist Irving Cano.
Everyone is invited to join park naturalists and volunteers as they spot and count thousands of migrating raptors during our annual Hawk Watch.
Fall Hawk Watch begins September 1st at Bentsen-RGV State Park and runs through the end of October. The public is welcome to join our hawk counters to learn more about birds of prey and to participate in this important citizen science program.
Organizers for the McAllen Holiday Parade have invited the community to be a part of this year’s festivities in various ways, including, a special call for entries for the McAllen Holiday Shoebox Parade. Additionally, the parade is seeking volunteers and high school bands throughout the region to be a part of the magical tradition and, thanks to the partnership with McAllen I.S.D., MHP stadium tickets are on sale for McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium, from where the parade steps off and pre-parade festivities take place, on Saturday, December 3, 2022, starting at 6 p.m.
Staff at the Gladys Porter Zoo are extremely proud to announce the historic hatching of six endangered Mangshan pit vipers. The Gladys Porter Zoo is now one of only three institutions in the United States to have successfully bred this rare species. There are only about 500 left in the wild which makes this hatching such a momentous event.
Written by Adam Russell, TAMU
Summer is always a challenging time for Texas ornamental and vegetable gardens, but a record heat wave and drought have made it especially difficult to keep plants from turning brown and crispy. So, how can we manage our gardens until rain and cooler temperatures bring relief?
Read more: Record temperatures push limits of plant survival
Rocket, a beloved giraffe at the Gladys Porter Zoo, is now the main character of her own children’s book, Rocket the Space Giraffe. The book was written by Suzanne Shepard, Board President of the Valley Zoological Society, and illustrated by Tilia Rand-Bell, an award-winning illustrator. Since the Zoo’s public unveiling of the book on July 21st, Rocket the Space Giraffe has skyrocketed to the #1 spot in New Releases of Children’s Zoo Books on Amazon.
Read more: New Children’s Book features Gladys Porter Zoo Giraffe
Written by Susan Himes, TAMU
A Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service expert wants people to better understand and appreciate our native bee pollinators.
“When people see a bee in their garden, many assume it is a honeybee when, odds are, it is actually a native bee,” said Molly Keck, AgriLife Extension integrated pest management specialist and entomologist, San Antonio.
