Texas Horned Lizard

“They have a mystique about ’em, you know. They’re kind of so ugly, they’re cute,” says Brian Wright, who lives and works on the 9,500-acre Hill Country property as the ranch manager.

Releasing the baby lizards is only one part of the project. The ranch's fire ant population was scaled back, the use of chemical pesticides was banned, and native plants were nurtured so they could spread and flourish.

The zoo has paired sets of horned lizards to encourage breeding, then carefully hatch the eggs.