October 3, 2018 – These bumpy reptiles are Texas horned lizards, also known as “horny toads.” Once common in Texas, the lizard is now a threatened species there. The beloved state reptile has two large horns on its head, and though it’s mostly docile, it can shoot blood from its eyes when threatened. Biologists with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and three area zoos have been working together to save the horned lizard.The zoos have begun captive breeding programs, with a goal to replenish the wild population. In September, around 140 hatchlings were released in Mason Mountain Wildlife Management Area in Texas. Biologists hope the breeding and reintroduction program eventually will lead to self-sustaining populations.
That’s the case with the Texas horned lizard, the state’s official reptile and one of 1,300 species of concern in Texas alone, says Tom Harvey at the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD).
Numbers of the so-called horny toad have dropped so sharply that the reptile has been declared threatened in Texas, and steps are being taken to save it. The Forth Worth Zoo has started a horned lizard captive breeding program; the hatchlings, around two weeks old in this video, are being released into the wild in the hopes that flooding the landscape with baby lizards will ensure their survival.
“The plan now is to produce large numbers of offspring that will hopefully enable them to
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