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THE CARACARA
by
John Troesser |
All
roads leading to
Gonzales are scenic. All roads leading to Gonzales
have small animals
that get run over and can perhaps ruin a family trip. Gonzales
doesn't like this, but realistically there's not much they can do.
Enter the Caracara, vulture of the millennium! First of all, it's
name is echoic, meaning the name imitates it's cry. Caracara is the
sound that is heard by Brazilian Indians. Why we have to have Brazilian
Indians name it is beyond us. |
Caracara
Photo courtesy John Darsnek |
What
makes this bird (also known as a Mexican Eagle) so special is that
it only moonlights as a scavenger. It eats live prey as well and can
even run prey down with its strong legs and sharp talons. This is
a good reason not to take "Fluffy" to Palmetto
Park.
For some reason Caracaras have chosen Gonzales
as the center of their greatest concentration in the U.S. Palmetto
State Park is where the Audubon Society conducts it's yearly count,
although last year's count was called on account of flood. |
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Photo
Courtesy Carol Ann Anderson, Executive Director,Kingsville CVB |
| Caracaras
are also better looking than vultures, although you might get some
argument from vultures. They mate for life, stay with their young
for a year and build nests, something that other members of the falcon
family don't do. So, see, they aren't even in the vulture family!
They're falcons. They have other endearing traits like preening every
morning and grooming each other for an hour. |
Texas
Parks and Wildlife Magazine
was kind enough to sell us their back issues dealing with this magnificent
bird. The September 1988 Issue has an article by Jane Lyons that is
lacking only in that it is too short. There are lots of good photos
by several photographers, and if you can find it, another article
by Larry Ditto is in the January 1974 issue. These articles are our
source for everything we know about Caracaras.
Subscribe to Texas Parks and Wildlife Magazine and tell them they
shouldn't charge us for back issues, because we'd be glad to bring
them back. Actually we enjoy all the people we've met at all the parks
we've visited. As far as their headquarters is concerned, it's easier
to get an audience with the Pope. A lot of this has to do with funding,
and we understand some people are doing the work of four. Support
their efforts, and prevent them from doing the work of five. Visit
a park and you can start with Palmetto.
Summer, 1999 |
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