Texas State University issued a “loose livestock” alert after a bull, which had wandered away from a nearby ranch, began roaming the campus. - See more at: http://www.texasmonthly.com/news/me...nge-news-from-july-2015/#sthash.STDA2c1K.dpuf We also have feral emus and supposedly have chupacabras. There's never a dull moment in Texas!
You might be surprised by how many feral Emus there are in Texas. Many years ago Interstate 20 from Ft. Worth to Abilene had 4 or 5 Emu farms along the route. The market for Emu meat bottomed out and since some of the farmers had no place to sell them or even give them away, they were turned loose in other fields all over the area. About 15-20 years ago that started to be a big concern for motorists along the highway, some of the animals were hit and killed and local residents in the country started finding them in their yards and foraging through their own gardens. The chupacabras on the other hand .... most have been proven to be wild dogs or coyotes with a severe case of Mange.... or is that a cover-up?
I'm not surprised that you have emus roaming wild there in Texas. We too have animals that are not natives and have been turned out when they are of no further value. Some, however, have escaped and adapted to our climate. We have wallabies, reports of 'big' cats and species of deer such as muntjacs roaming freely. Mink are a real problem as is the American crayfish but we don't, as far as I'm aware, have anything like the legendary chupacabras that folks have claimed to see in Texas. Let's hope you never come across one but, if you do, make sure you have a camera to hand!!
Wow you guys have all the interesting stuff. Two weeks ago at the local fair a 900 pound steer got loose and ran away into the surrounding area. That area has a lot of suburbs surrounding the fair grounds. They said that if you see DO NOT approach it. Now why would they say that. The steer had not been seen for over 2 weeks. But this last week it happened to show up back at the fair grounds. I know why it ran away from the fair before it had even started. It did NOT want to become hamburger meat. The owner came and loaded it up in a trailer and it is now back at their farm happily enjoying itself. That definitely was not a bum steer.
We've had neighbor's cows wander through our front yard, and their chickens enjoying our back yard. A neighbor's dog spent the night in the barn, and a steer from across the road actually jumped our fence and grazed the pasture until its owner came looking for it. Nothing quite so funny as a 200 lb. man trying to coax a 700 lb. steer into a cattle hauler trailer. I really need to get a video camera . . . .
Oh my gosh Marlin that would be a great video for U-Tube. I know every time I see something interesting I never have my camera handy.
Growing up we had a flock of chickens in NJ. One year, a group of them took to roosting in the neighbor's tree. I don't know why, they had a perfectly good chicken coop. All was fine until one hen started to lay her eggs while in the tree....the neighbor objected to the mess!
I love hearing about the things that happen....I have only had 2 steer in my large flower beds when we lived in the country and here close to town Bob, the llama..(may he rest in peace)... I guess they all love to graze in flower beds
