Pronghorn and Turtles and Bears, Oh My
A number of years ago I worked as a park ranger at several places in the Hill Country. My favorite duty was the night count, driving dirt roads and spotlighting active mammals in order to get an idea of their average numbers per acre. In the darkness, the landscape and the animals looked alien, disguised in shadowy natural camouflage except for eyes flashing and blinking in the spotlight, transforming the task for me into a safari in a not-so-foreign land.
At one point during my tenure, I went on a real safari. By then, I had developed a pretty good eye for spotting Texas wildlife and my newly acquired skills translated surprisingly well to the East African landscape. Crossing the grasslands searching for lions, hyenas, and
