Source: AgriLife Today
One of the Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute’s most popular “spokespersons” for quail appreciation and conservation isn’t a person at all, but a sociable 6-inch-tall northern bobwhite named Kirby.
“We have been using Kirby as a ‘life model’ for a variety of educational programs and activities related to the conservation of quail and quail habitat,” said Dr. Jim Cathey, an associate director of the institute in College Station. “Texas is home to four quail species and quail are a vital part of the economy and ecology of the state. Unfortunately, the number of quail, especially northern bobwhite, has been declining for decades. Some possible causes are land use changes and land fragmentation, drought, habitat loss, predation, invasive species and disease.”
Cathey said the institute, which has offices on the Texas A&M campus in College Station and in San Antonio, as well as additional personnel based in Texas and other states, has an extensive wildlife conservation and mitigation program that helps address today’s wildlife and habitat management issues.
More information about habitat requirements of Texas quail can be found on the institute website at http://bit.ly/2D0ttX7.
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