Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge
Encyclopedia
Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge is the largest protected area of natural habitat left in the Lower Rio Grande Valley
. The 65096 acres (263.4 km²) refuge is located almost entirely in Cameron County, Texas
(near Harlingen
), although a very small part of its northernmost point extends into southern Willacy County. The Peregrine Fund
began reintroducing
captive-bred
Northern Aplomado Falcons
(Falco femoralis septentrionalis) to the refuge in 1985, which had been nearly extirpated
from the Southwestern United States
; today, it is home to 40 pairs. Nine other endangered
or threatened species
inhabit the refuge, such as the Texas Ocelot
(Leopardus pardalis albescens) and Gulf Coast Jaguarundi
(Puma yagouaroundi cacomitli), rare wild cats
. Programs at the refuge include vegetation and wetland
restoration.
Rio Grande Valley
The Rio Grande Valley or the Lower Rio Grande Valley, informally called The Valley, is an area located in the southernmost tip of South Texas...
. The 65096 acres (263.4 km²) refuge is located almost entirely in Cameron County, Texas
Cameron County, Texas
Cameron County is the southernmost county located in the U.S. state of Texas. In 2010, its population was 406,220. Its county seat is Brownsville. Cameron was founded in 1848...
(near Harlingen
Harlingen, Texas
Harlingen is a city in Cameron County in the heart of the Rio Grande Valley of south Texas, United States, about from the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. The city covers more than , and is the second largest city in Cameron County and the sixth largest in the Rio Grande Valley...
), although a very small part of its northernmost point extends into southern Willacy County. The Peregrine Fund
The Peregrine Fund
The Peregrine Fund is a non-profit organization founded in 1970 that conserves threatened and endangered birds of prey. The successful recovery in the United States of the Peregrine Falcon, which was removed from the U.S. Endangered Species List in 1999 , enabled the organization to expand its...
began reintroducing
Reintroduction
Reintroduction is the deliberate release of a species into the wild in zones formerly inhabited by said species but where it has disappeared from for a number of reasons, from captivity or relocated from other areas where the species still survives in...
captive-bred
Captive breeding
Captive breedingis the process of breeding animals in human controlled environments with restricted settings, such as wildlife reserves, zoos and other conservation facilities; sometimes the process is construed to include release of individual organisms to the wild, when there is sufficient...
Northern Aplomado Falcons
Aplomado Falcon
The Aplomado Falcon, Falco femoralis, is a medium-sized falcon of the Americas. The species' largest contiguous range is in South America, but not in the deep interior Amazon Basin. It was long known as Falco fusco-coerulescens or Falco fuscocaerulescens, but these names are now believed to refer...
(Falco femoralis septentrionalis) to the refuge in 1985, which had been nearly extirpated
Local extinction
Local extinction, also known as extirpation, is the condition of a species which ceases to exist in the chosen geographic area of study, though it still exists elsewhere...
from the Southwestern United States
Southwestern United States
The Southwestern United States is a region defined in different ways by different sources. Broad definitions include nearly a quarter of the United States, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah...
; today, it is home to 40 pairs. Nine other endangered
Endangered species
An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters...
or threatened species
Threatened species
Threatened species are any speciesg animals, plants, fungi, etc.) which are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future.The World Conservation Union is the foremost authority on threatened species, and treats threatened species not as a single category, but as a group of three categories,...
inhabit the refuge, such as the Texas Ocelot
Ocelot
The ocelot , pronounced /ˈɒsəˌlɒt/, also known as the dwarf leopard or McKenney's wildcat is a wild cat distributed over South and Central America and Mexico, but has been reported as far north as Texas and in Trinidad, in the Caribbean...
(Leopardus pardalis albescens) and Gulf Coast Jaguarundi
Gulf Coast Jaguarundi
The Gulf Coast Jaguarundi is a subspecies of Jaguarundi that ranges from southern Texas in the United States south to Veracruz and San Luis Potosí in eastern Mexico. This cat looks like a large weasel or otter with a coat in one one three color phases: black, reddish-brown or brownish-gray...
(Puma yagouaroundi cacomitli), rare wild cats
Felidae
Felidae is the biological family of the cats; a member of this family is called a felid. Felids are the strictest carnivores of the thirteen terrestrial families in the order Carnivora, although the three families of marine mammals comprising the superfamily pinnipedia are as carnivorous as the...
. Programs at the refuge include vegetation and wetland
Wetland
A wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with water either permanently or seasonally. Wetlands are categorised by their characteristic vegetation, which is adapted to these unique soil conditions....
restoration.