Wildlife

Crawfish Season Comes Earlier Each Year, Thanks to Massive Houston Demand

The tiny, peckish crawfish I ate over the weekend at The Hideaway on Dunvale -- my preferred spot for crawfish -- would seem to indicate that although crawfish are available in Houston, crawfish season has not yet truly arrived. This is a point of contention every year among crawfish lovers, who cl ... More >>

Cover Story: Is Biomedical Testing on Primates Still Necessary?

On October 24, scientists from around the world will come to San Antonio to discuss how testing on monkeys might one day lead to an AIDS cure. They'll be talking baboons, macaques, and vervets at the 30th Annual Symposium on Nonhuman Primate Models for AIDS, not chimpanzees. Once thought to be the ... More >>

Mudbug Music: The Perfect Soundtrack for Your Next Crawfish Boil

Fat Pat's "Tops Drop" on the way to buy the crawfish in Kemah and UGK's "Wood Wheel" for the drive back. These are just two of the songs that Rocks Off's Nathan Smith recommends to start your day-long crawfish boiling festivities. If you think that zydeco music and only zydeco music is the right ac ... More >>

55 Pounds of Coke? Six Other Things Found on Galveston Beaches, Ranked from Worst to Best

Whales, gold rings, messages in bottle, coke​A jogger found 55 pounds of cocaine on the beach in Galveston this morning, a bigger haul than the 37 pounds someone else found there a year ago. In both cases, they turned it over to the cops instead of going all low-rent Breaking Bad. Of course, ... More >>

Crawfish Across the World

Ground crawfish powder, one of the "mother" spices in Nigerian cooking.​Louisianans like to think they've got the world on a string when it comes to crawfish, with small towns like Breaux Bridge laying claim to titles such as "Crawfish Capital of the World." But there are a few people in Niger ... More >>

Very, Very Determined Mountain Lion Denied Chance to Eat President Obama in El Paso

Dedicated mountain lion says Yes We Can, learns otherwise.​We know not the name of the mountain lion who was chased through the downtown streets of El Paso this morning, continuing to escape pursuers even with two tranquilizer darts in him. We only know the cat must have really wanted to see ... More >>

Piranhas in Lake Woodlands!! Shoppers Beware!!!

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water....a piranha has been found in Lake Woodlands. The good news: It's only "a cousin" to the piranha. The better news: This is "a vegetarian" type of piranha. Still, sophisticated scientific research has proven just what can happen:

Can't Stand Cooking the Mudbugs Yourself? Let The Crawfish Company Do the Dirty Work For You

Photo by John SuhThe mudbugs before I tore them up.​I used to host crawfish boils and cook the critters myself -- that is, until my garage started to smell like Galveston at its worst and then stayed that way for the next three months. I gave up and got my seasonal crawfish fix elsewhere, but ... More >>

Kemah Crawfish Festival

Comment of the Day

​Today Katharine Shilcutt counted down her top 10 places to eat crawfish, and commenter Matt wrote in about the proper way to do things: I believe Calliope's also seasons the water (that's what the owner told me, I look forward to trying them). I'm from New Orleans and will never understand w ... More >>

Cirque du Soleil: Ovo

Intelligent Life

When NASA employee April Evans questioned animal experiments, her career fell apart.

Black and White

Calamares en su tinto at Lemon Tree

Houston Arboretum at Night: Family Owl Prowl

Go into the dark with some furry, flying creatures

Houston Museum of Natural Science Excursion: Waugh Bridge Bats

Web exclusive!

Death Of A Ladies' Man: R.I.P., Deano

Photo courtesy Houston ZooDeano, 26, with Cali, 5: That's what I love about these high school seals, man. I get older, they stay the same age. ​ The Animal God giveth, and the Animal God taketh away.Not long after the birth of the World's Cutest Giraffe, an old soul has left the Houston Zoo: Deano ... More >>

Under the Sea 3D

Web exclusive!

If You Live In The Boonies Of Fort Bend County, Beware The Rabid Skunks

If you live in Needville or  "the unincorporated portion of Beasley," the Fort Bend County Health & Human Services Department is warning you to stay away from skunks.We've never quite lived in a place where people had to be warned to stay away from skunks, but then again we've never even be ... More >>

Art Rock: Young Mammals CD Release at Aerosol Warfare/DiverseWorks

Young Mammals Wrapping Debut CD... Today

Some exciting news for fans of Westside indie-rockers Young Mammals, of which Rocks Off understands there may be a few out there in Houston (including himself). The Strokes-ish quartet is wrapping its debut full-length, begun way back when the band was still known as the Dimes, today and already a ... More >>

The Zoo Hunkers Down

Has The Legendary Chupacabra Been Found?

Fried Rice: In the Hot Seat with Zahira from Wild Moccasins

Feral Hog Contraceptive: Less Pigs in the Poke?

Caribou Times Two

Comparing the synth-popper with his mammalian namesake

Shark Bites

JAWS Unleashed is as sloppy as it is gory

A Dip in the Ocean

Gator Aid

Thanks to the Endangered Species Act, alligators are everywhere in southeast Texas. So now the state is going to make it easier for you to shoot you one.

Shell Game

Over the Hedge wants you to feel bad about what it's selling, which is everything

Save the Dome

Teaching kids to keep their heads

Meaty, Beaty, Big and Bouncy

Ziggy's Healthy Grill

Winging It

For business or pleasure, here comes the Great Butterfly Chase

Best Cajun Restaurant

Floyd's Cajun Kitchen

Night & Day

June 10 - 16, 1999

Loving Lop Seeks Carrots and Commitment

Night & Day

February 11 - 17, 1999

Fantastic Antics

A Bug's Life brings out the best of Pixar's new breed

Trunk Show

Dish

Bless the Beasts and Kids

Poop Happens

An apartment complex loses the battle against guano

The Last Conqueror

Cecil Hopper subdues the wilderness -- then enshrines it in his museum

The Airport That Wouldn't Die

Last fall, environmentalists thought they'd finally put a stake through the heart of the West Side Airport. But the mayoral race seems to have given it a new lease on life.

Slaying Mantis

Naturalist Born Thrillers

Butterflies are nature's floorshow and the Natural Science Museum's cash cow. John Watts' job is to keep the performers alive and flitting.

Death and the Raccoon

To animal control, Pedro was ring-tailed vermin. To Jimmy Vonderglotz, he was a friend.

A Boy and His Cetacean

Letters

Sanctuary

The oil is gone from High Island, but the birds still come. So do the bird watchers.

The fight to save the Katy Prairie

How many winters more will Arctic waterfowl make their 10,000-year-old journey to the western edge of Houston?