Wildlife and Biodiversity: Partial List of Species that No Longer Occur in Texas

MAMMALS

Jaguar: common in Texas during the 1800s; last reported in South Texas in the early 1950s. Now found primarily in Central and South America.
Red wolf: last found in Texas and the United States in 1979; as a pure species in the wild, it is believed to be extinct.
Mexican wolf: believed to have been extirpated from the United States; a few may exist in Mexico.
Black-footed ferret: last seen in Texas in 1963; extinct in the wild in the United States since the mid-1980s.
Grizzly bear: disappeared from Texas about 1890.
Louisiana vole (similar to a mole): last reported seen in eastern Texas about 1900.
Bison: extirpated from Texas prior to 1900; some domesticated herds exist on private ranches.
Desert bighorn: extirpated from Texas by 1959 but is being reintroduced in the state.
Elk: extirpated from Texas prior to 1900; different subspecies have been reintroduced.

BIRDS

Sharp-tailed grouse: last noted in northwest corner of Panhandle in about 1906.
Passenger pigeon: last one reported in the United States died in 1914 and the last reported sighting in Texas was before that; the species is extinct worldwide.
Carolina parakeet: last report of one killed in Bowie County in about 1987.
Ivory-billed woodpecker: has been extinct in the United States since 1972; some might be found in Cuba.
Texas Henslow's sparrow: has been extinct in Texas and the United States since 1983.
Aplomado falcon: is being reintroduced in Texas but is listed as endangered in the United States.

FISHES

PLANTS*

*The plants listed have not been seen in twenty to thirty years and, therefore, are considered "historical" and possibly extinct.

Source: Information provided to authors by TPWD, November, 1997. This is not a complete list of all extirpated species.