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Diane Barber, senior curator of ectotherms, holds a horned lizard Aug. 26, 2025, at the Fort Worth Zoo. (Mary Abby Goss | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\nFor generations, the Texas horny toad was a backyard pet. As they disappeared, fond childhood memories of these creatures have become a symbol for conservation in Texas.<\/p>\n
The Fort Worth Zoo championed conservation efforts, beginning its horned lizard conservation program in 2011 in partnership with Texas Parks and Wildlife, other Texas zoos and TCU to reintroduce the species to its native habitat.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The zoo has since continued raising hatchlings and releasing them into the wild about four hours southwest of Fort Worth at Mason Mountain Wildlife Management Area in Mason County \u2014 an ideal location as it neighbors one of the remaining natural populations of lizards.<\/p>\n
Diane Barber, senior curator of ectotherms, holds a horned lizard Aug. 26, 2025, at the Fort Worth Zoo. (Mary Abby Goss | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\n
The zoo recently hatched its 2,000th lizard and plans for a release in September, said Diane Barber, Fort Worth Zoo\u2019s senior curator of ectotherms.<\/p>\n
Despite the lizards having been in captivity for decades, Barber said no one had researched them, further threatening their disappearance.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMost of the animals I work with \u2014 reptiles and amphibians \u2014 people don\u2019t really care about them because they can\u2019t develop a connection. These little guys have a way of getting that attention and breaking barriers,\u201d Barber said.<\/p>\n
Researchers look to build up horned lizard population<\/p>\n
Dean Williams, a Texas Christian University biology professor at TCU, has led genetic research on conservation of the species.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Why are they called horned frogs?<\/p>\n
The unique characteristics of the Texas horned lizard distinguish them from other lizards. Their frog-like shape \u2014 wide and flat \u2014 and their texture of horns on their back and spine inspire nicknames like the horned frog or horny toad.<\/p>\n
He began his research after Texas Parks and Wildlife approached him about the Texas horned lizards reintroduction program, he said. His research identified three main genetic clusters of horned lizards in Texas, aiding the Fort Worth Zoo in focusing on the northern population.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of people want them on their properties,\u201d Williams said. \u201cThe Fort Worth Zoo gets requests from ranchers all over Texas asking for horny toads to be reintroduced to their properties.\u201d<\/p>\n
With the first reintroduction attempts, the zoo released adult lizards, resulting in a low survival rate due to high predation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The program now releases hatchlings.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Although the releases have been successful, questions still remain as horned lizards aren\u2019t as plentiful as they once were, said Kira Gangbin, a TCU doctorate student researching the iconic Texas creature.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe population isn\u2019t sticking as well as we would want. So the question is, why?\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
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A baby horned lizard rests in the palm of Diane Barber, senior curator of ectotherms, Aug. 26, 2025, at the Fort Worth Zoo. (Mary Abby Goss | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\n
Gangbin is looking for those answers. She is examining female nesting sites, how fire ants affect survival, and their thermal preferences to determine the time of day best for releases.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we can identify areas that females would prefer to nest and release babies in those areas, maybe that would be a better way to reintroduce them and they\u2019d have better survival,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Fire ants are a major threat to horned lizards and a leading cause of their disappearance. They attack hatchlings and compete with the native harvester ants that form over 90% of their diet, Gangbin said.<\/p>\n
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Ants attempt to climb out of a trap Aug. 26, 2025, at the Fort Worth Zoo. (Mary Abby Goss | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\n
\u201cThe best part about working with horned lizards is that you can convince a lot of people that traditionally wouldn\u2019t want to take the wildlife-centric land management strategy, and you can get them to start,\u201d Gangbin said. \u201cYou can teach them how even an ant is really important to the ecosystem.\u201d<\/p>\n
Do horned lizards shoot blood out of their eyes?<\/p>\n
Horned lizards are among the few animals that eat harvester ants, which have potent venom. They incorporate the ants\u2019 venom into their blood. As a defense mechanism, they can squirt blood through their eyes at predators leaving a bad taste in their mouths.<\/p>\n
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A horned lizard buries itself under sand Aug. 26, 2025, at the Fort Worth Zoo. (Mary Abby Goss | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\n
Hard to see, hard to save<\/p>\n
Understanding the species\u2019 survivorship is also challenging due to tracking technology and the lizards\u2019 incredible camouflage, Barber said.<\/p>\n
Hatchlings are tagged with radio frequency identification, or RFID, technology similar to what\u2019s used to locate skiers buried under avalanches.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re so cryptic. They disappear instantly and blend in,\u201d Williams said.<\/p>\n
Tags often fall off when the lizards shed their skin, making it harder to track them into adulthood.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cFor the majority of them, we will never know their fate,\u201d Barber said.<\/p>\n
Reintroduction efforts were sparked from conversations around the species being an icon of the state.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverybody rallies behind them,\u201d Gangbin said. \u201cThey\u2019re serving as this poster child of conservation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Older Texans often share stories about catching bucketfuls of horned lizards as children.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNow it\u2019s hard to find one,\u201d Gangbin said. \u201cIt\u2019s a visualization for that community of how the environment is changing.\u201d<\/p>\n
The emotional connection to horny toads became obvious to Barber after she moved here and heard how much people care for the lizard, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt inspired me,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Fort Worth Zoo was the first zoo to successfully breed the species and maintains the largest breeding group. Barber has been with the zoo since the start of the program and the debut of the Texas Wild! exhibit, which kick-started the program, she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you can successfully preserve horned lizards, you are also successfully preserving other Texas species that rely on the same habitat,\u201d Williams said. \u201cPeople know about them, people like them and so they\u2019re like a gateway to help conserve habitats.\u201d<\/p>\n
What do conservationists love about Texas horned lizards?<\/p>\n
Kira Gangbin, TCU doctorate student:<\/strong> \u201cThey look like grumpy old men. They are very grouchy and look unlike anything you\u2019ve seen before. That\u2019s why so many people call them horny toads \u2014 they look like a frog, but they\u2019re in a lizard form. They have a very unique shape.\u201d<\/p>\n Diane Barber, Fort Worth Zoo senior curator of ectotherms:<\/strong> \u201cThey\u2019re just very hardy little lizards. They seem to have a personality where a lot of reptiles typically don\u2019t. My favorite stories with the horned lizard is there\u2019s a lot of Boy Scouts back in the day that used to go around, pick these up and trade them for patches. It\u2019s part of their story. I can\u2019t think of any other species that would have a connection to little boys like that.\u201d<\/p>\n Dean Williams, TCU biology professor and genetic expert:<\/strong> \u201cThey\u2019re so cryptic. They disappear instantly and blend in. Even when using radio trackers, we\u2019ve had cases where in a space the size of a desktop, we\u2019ll spend 10 minutes looking and it\u2019ll be wedged between a grass clump in some weird way that you would never think of. Their ability to disappear is really amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n Hannah Dollar is an audience engagement fellow for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at hannah.dollar@fortworthreport.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here<\/a>.<\/p>\n \n\tRelated\n<\/p>\n Fort Worth Report is certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative<\/a> for adhering to standards for ethical journalism.<\/p>\n Republish This Story<\/p>\n
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