Meet Our Animal Ambassadors

Iris the Eastern Screech Owl
Woody the Wood Duck
Blossom the Virginia Opossum
Spot the Three-toed Box Turtle
Blue the Eastern Collared Lizard
Ren the Western Rat Snake
Lady the Three-toed Box Turtle
Pesto the Baird's Rat Snake
Jaba the Cane Toad
Sage the Desert Kingsnake
Tejas the Texas Tortoise
Bean the Prairie Kingsnake
Tim the Texas Tan Tarantula

Learn their stories by moving through our photo gallery:

Iris the Eastern Screech Owl

Iris came to the Center in 2009 as a tiny owlet patient with an underdeveloped right eye. She was likely kicked out of the nest by either her parents or siblings due to this deformity, resulting in her transport to our Center. After spending several months in rehabilitation, she was deemed non-releasable because of her eye and soon found her permanent home here in our education program.

Most birds are protected by the North American Migratory Bird Treaty Act and keeping them without the proper permits can result in hefty fines.

Both eastern and western screech owls are common throughout Texas. Despite their size, they are keen predators, eating a variety of animals like small birds and mammals, earthworms, insects, crayfish, tadpoles, frogs, and lizards. Raptors rely heavily on their eyesight for daily activities like flying, hunting, and keeping an eye out for larger predators.

Sage the Desert Kingsnake

Sage came to us in 2024 after starting her life in human care. Because of this, she is not eligible for release and has joined our program as a permanent resident. At just 3 years old, Sage is still growing and may reach close to 4 feet in length. And, with excellent care, kingsnakes can live to 15 or even 20 years old!

Desert kingsnakes range from west Texas to the southern tip of Texas. Despite their name, they can be found in any mesic (seasonally wet) area within this range. Similar to speckled kingsnakes, they are notable for their finely placed yellow crossbands and pale yellow bellies.

Kingsnakes can feed on small mammals, and readily feast on other reptiles - especially other snakes! Desert kingsnakes are immune to the bites of native venomous snakes, and can eat rattlesnakes and coral snakes with ease.

Spot the Three-toed Box Turtle

Spot, one of our two female box turtles, was rescued from poor captive care and shows mild effects of metabolic bone disease (MBD). It is difficult to age turtles, but we estimate she is approximately 16 years old. Spot is a terrestrial, or land, turtle and cannot swim!

MBD is a condition that results from poor nutrition and incorrect heating and lighting. Left untreated, MBD can result in soft, deformed shells, muscle weakness, bone fractures, organ damage, and even death.

Box turtles are so-named for their ability to completely enclose their head and limbs inside their shells thanks to a flexible hinge on their plastron (lower shell half). Their diets consist of many grasses, fruits, mushrooms, insects, and even small fish, amphibians, and carrion. With some good luck and favorable conditions, a box turtle can live to be 50 years old!

Ren the Western Rat Snake

Florence, or “Ren” for short, transferred into our program in 2024 from a private home and is not eligible for release. As a tribute to H-E-B’s continued support of our Center and program, she is named after one of the H-E-B founders, Florence Butt. At only 2 years old, Ren now has a forever home with HHS Wildlife Center, and we look forward to introducing her to future audiences.

Western rat snakes are a nonvenomous native species found throughout the eastern half of Texas. They are notable for their large size, climbing ability, and physical resemblance to the venomous copperhead. Per their name, they are excellent pet control and regularly feed on rats, mice, birds, eggs, and occasionally other reptiles and amphibians. All snakes are beneficial to our urban ecosystem.

Unfortunately, many harmless snakes die needlessly out of the fear of danger to people or pets. Encountering snakes in any space can be an unwanted surprise. It is advised to first identify the snake as venomous or nonvenomous, then proceed with a humane removal method. Learn more about interacting with snakes and helpful deterrent methods here. 

Woody the Wood Duck

Woody joined our program as an ambassador in 2021. He is not releasable due to him imprinting on humans after he was illegally raised by a member of the public. Because of this, Woody did not develop the necessary survival skills needed for release. Moreso, he does not even recognize his own species! Although he's missing some "duck skills", his friendliness makes him an excellent ambassador for his species with the Houston Humane Society Wildlife Center.

Most birds are protected by the North American Migratory Bird Treaty Act and keeping them without the proper permits can result in hefty fines.

Wood ducks are cavity nesters and regularly roost in empty tree hollows. This niche makes them vulnerable to habitat loss as humans often remove dead and dying trees from private property. To combat this, wood ducks have adjusted well to nesting in human-made nest boxes!

Woody the wood duck

Blossom the Virginia Opossum

Blossom came to the Center in 2021 as a patient. She was found in the Cypress area where her mother had died due to a car strike. After being admitted at only 66 grams (equivalent to a 'C' battery), she endured weeks of rehabilitation to combat dehydration and persistent ear and skin infections. Over time, she grew into a healthy young opossum! When her eyes opened, we found one of them had not developed, making her ineligible for release. After proper permitting, she joined our Education Program in September 2021.

Opossums are excellent groomers and maintain an outstanding appearance despite their foraging patterns. Additionally, it is believed that their low body temperature makes them nearly immune to rabies!

Virginia opossums are North America’s only marsupial and are very common around the Houston region. They are often spotted foraging around neighborhoods where they serve as an excellent backyard clean-up crew. When left alone to scavenge for a variety of foods like mice, venomous snakes, ticks, cockroaches, grubs, overripe fruits, and even carrion, opossums can help keep the neighborhood more sanitary for the rest of us.

Jaba the Cane Toad

Jaba joined our program in 2016 after he was donated to our Center for educational display. As a former pet, Jaba is not eligible for release. Cane toads are Texas natives and thrive in many habitats and climates, helping them become one of the most-reviled amphibians in the world. Best known as a destructive invasive species, cane toads have been purposefully introduced into many international ecoregions in an attempt to control local pests. 

Cane toads are voracious predators and feed on a wide variety of foods including many insects, other frogs and amphibians, small snakes, mice and rats, and the occasional algae, aquatic plants, or carrion. With lots of food and no natural predators in these new areas, cane toads quickly overpopulated and are now the pest that locals originally tried to control.

Unfortunately, amphibians are quickly disappearing all around the world due to habitat loss, disease, and pollution. Today, approximately one-third of all amphibian species are threatened, endangered, or extinct.

Tejas the Texas Tortoise

Tejas was found roaming a Clear Lake neighborhood in 2020. This region is far outside her native range of South Texas, so she was likely an illegally kept pet who escaped or was released. Because she was not eligible for release, she was transferred to our program for permanent placement. Since then, she has doubled in weight and is nearly full-grown! 

Tejas regularly feasts on a mixture of greens, hays and grasses, and the occasional bloom or fresh fruit. She also enjoys the crunch of fresh prickly pear cactus pads. 

Texas tortoises are the only native tortoise species in the Lone Star State and are protected by the state due to their Threatened status. Due to their susceptibility to disease, it is illegal to release Texas tortoises into the wild from captive settings.

Bean the Prairie Kingsnake

Bean entered our program in 2024 after starting her life in human care and is unable to be released. At only 1 year old, Bean is still growing and will likely reach about 3 feet in length! We look forward to watching her grow and caring for her for many years to come.

Prairie kingsnakes (or yellow-bellied kingsnakes) have a large native range and can be found from the Texas panhandle to southeast Texas in prairie and riparian habitats. They range in tan or gray colors with brown or reddish blotches along their sides.

They are omnivorous and will eat mice, amphibians, lizards, birds and their eggs, and even other snakes - including native venomous species! They also occasionally eat insects.

Blue the Eastern Collared Lizard

Blue was transferred to us in 2024 as a juvenile from an out-of-state education program and is not releasable. He is just over 1 year old and still growing, and can live up to 10 years old!

Eastern collared lizards are found in the west half of Texas. They eat a variety of insects, arachnids, small snakes, and even other lizards! These lizards are known to be extremely quick on their feet with their stride being 3x their body length! When they feel threatened, they will try to flee, often on their hind legs with the forward part of their body held upright. 

They get their name from the 2 black “collars” around their neck. They are also sexually dimorphic. Adult males have bright green scales as well as tan, olive, brown, blue, and yellow scales. Females are less colorful than the males, usually shades of brown or tan. They can grow to up to 10 inches with males being larger than females.

Tim the Texas Tan Tarantula

Tim the Tiny Texas Tan Tarantula joined as our first invertebrate ambassador in 2024! His species is native to southern Texas and northern Mexico and is one of the largest tarantulas in the United States with a leg span of up to 6 inches. 

Males have shorter lifespans, averaging 10-12 years. Tim is still growing and is currently measuring about a 3-inch leg span.

The Texas Tan Tarantula is non-aggressive and avoids confrontations with humans and larger animals. However, if provoked, it will use its hind legs to kick off some of its urticating hairs.

Pesto the Baird's Rat Snake

Pesto was transferred from the Eddie V. Gray Wetland Center in Baytown, TX in 2023. As a former pet donated to the Wetland Center, he cannot be released. Now a permanent resident in our ambassador program, Pesto regularly meets and interacts with audiences of all ages. An up-close visit with Pesto will reveal a beautiful red-orange undertone throughout his back, making him easily admirable.

Baird’s Rat Snakes are native to western Texas, in the Big Bend region, and are notable for their size, climbing ability, and dark stripes along their back. 

When threatened, many snake species including Baird’s rat snakes, try to intimidate potential predators by vibrating their tails rapidly to make loud noises.  Although there is no relation, that tail behavior is mimicking rattlesnakes! If this display fails to deter the predator, snakes will open their vent to release a smelly musk.

Lady the Three-toed Box Turtle

Lady, one of our two female box turtles, was rescued from poor captive care and shows the scars from once severe injuries from an encounter with a dog. Her shell also shows the effects of metabolic bone disease (MBD). It is difficult to age turtles, however we estimate that Lady is approximately 16 years old. Lady is a terrestrial, or land, turtle and cannot swim!

MBD is a condition that results from poor nutrition and incorrect heating and lighting. Left untreated, MBD can result in soft, deformed shells, muscle weakness, bone fractures, organ damage, and even death.

Box turtles are so-named for their ability to completely enclose their head and limbs inside their shells thanks to a flexible hinge on their plastron (lower shell half). Their diets consist of many grasses, fruits, mushrooms, insects, and even small fish, amphibians, and carrion. With some good luck and favorable conditions, a box turtle can live to be 50 years old!

Support our Ambassador Program by symbolically adopting an ambassador today.
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