ea snakes are not supposed to inhabit the Gulf of Mexico.
That simple fact is what makes a series of reports I have collected over the years so intriguing.
The story began when a man I know who breeds snakes came to my office to bring me a kingsnake. While there, he noticed a photograph of a banded sea krait on my wall and made a statement that immediately got my attention.
He said he had seen one.
He described kayaking to an offshore rig near High Island, Texas, where he encountered what he believed was a banded sea krait swimming around the structure. He described a four- to five-foot animal with distinctive banding and a paddle-like tail.
This wasn’t proof that a sea krait had somehow reached Texas waters, but the report was difficult for me to simply dismiss. The witness was familiar with snakes and believed he recognized what he had encountered.
More importantly, his story reminded me of another report.
Two anglers I know had encountered a long, bluish-white and black-striped snake swimming at the surface near the 18-Mile Light on Sabine Bank. They estimated the animal at around five feet long and also specifically described a paddle-like tail.
The two encounters occurred in the same general region of the northwestern Gulf.
Since then, I have received other reports from along the Gulf Coast, including Alabama and Florida. Some may have fairly conventional explanations. Native snakes and remarkably snake-like marine fishes such as eels have to be considered.
But the reports raise an interesting wildlife question.
If an exotic marine snake ever did appear in Gulf waters, how could it get here?
International shipping and the movement of marine organisms through ballast water have transported nonnative species around the world. Whether that could explain any of these particular observations is another question entirely, but it is one of the possibilities I examine in my new video.
“Venomous Sea Snakes in the Gulf? Investigating the Reports” looks at eyewitness testimony, sea snake biology, potential mistaken identities and possible pathways for an exotic animal to reach Gulf waters.
I am not claiming sea snakes have been confirmed in the Gulf of Mexico. They haven’t.
But when multiple people report unusual animals, I believe the right response is neither automatic belief nor automatic dismissal.
It’s investigation.
Chester Moore
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A 725.8-pound hog taken in Southeast Texas has become one of the most talked-about wildlife stories I’ve covered recently.
Its incredible size immediately attracted attention, but then people began looking closely at something else. The huge animal was black and white, and viewers started asking whether a hog that looked like this and weighed more than 700 pounds was really feral.
The debate made me connect some dots I hadn’t connected before. For years, I’ve known about giant domestic hogs being released at different locations in this region.
My new video reveals that history and looks at how those releases could help us understand some of the enormous feral hogs roaming Southeast Texas—including why a 725.8-pound free-ranging hog can look very different from what people expect a feral hog to look like.
WATCH THE NEW VIDEO: Was That 725-Pound Texas Hog Really Feral?
There are some important distinctions to make. This hog was free-ranging when it was killed, and its weight wasn’t someone’s field estimate. The animal was photographed on a scale registering 725.8 pounds.
What we don’t know is the complete ancestry of this individual hog, and that’s an important difference.
Domestic swine can escape or be released and become feral. Over time, those animals and their descendants can reproduce with other free-ranging hogs, contributing to the tremendous variation in size, coloration and physical characteristics we see in feral hog populations.
So unusual domestic characteristics don’t automatically make a free-ranging animal somebody’s pet or a barnyard hog.
That’s where the history I’ve known about for years becomes especially interesting. Giant domestic hogs were released at different locations in this region over a long period of time. I can’t connect this particular animal to any specific release, and I’m not claiming I can.
But I can connect the dots enough to ask a bigger question: Could that history help explain some of the enormous and unusual-looking feral hogs roaming this part of Texas today?
That’s part of what I explore in the new video. The 725.8-pound hog is real. The documented weight is real. The animal was free-ranging, and the history of giant domestic hog releases in the region is real.
What we don’t know is exactly how all those pieces fit together.
And that’s what makes this story worth digging into.
Chester Moore
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Drive through parts of the Hill Country and South Texas and you might encounter axis deer, blackbuck antelope or other animals originating thousands of miles from the Lone Star State. But could something much larger and more dangerous occasionally escape into the Texas wilds?
Could African lions and other exotic cats be roaming Texas?
It’s a question I’ve considered for years while investigating reports of unusual cats across Texas and other parts of the South. Most strange-cat sightings probably have much more conventional explanations. Mountain lions can appear in unexpected places, bobcats can look surprisingly large under the right circumstances and eyewitness identification is never perfect.
But some reports are much harder to explain.
Hear the Investigation on Dark Outdoors®
I recently explored one of the strangest big-cat accounts ever brought to me, along with giant cat tracks and other unusual sightings, on Dark Outdoors®.
Listen: “He Found an African Lion in His Chicken Coop in Texas”
One of the strangest accounts ever brought to me came from a Texas man who said he walked outside and discovered an enormous cat in his chicken coop.
What he described wasn’t a mountain lion. He believed he was looking at an African lion.
There was no DNA test or other definitive evidence to prove the animal’s identity, so this case has to remain exactly what it is: an extraordinary eyewitness account. But it raises an interesting wildlife question.
Texas has a tremendous amount of privately held exotic wildlife. While most discussions involve exotic hoofed animals, large exotic cats have also been kept in captivity in the state. If one escaped or was released, how long could it survive?
And how quickly would anyone know it was there?
Big Cats Can Be Hard to Find
Anyone familiar with mountain lions understands just how elusive a large predator can be. A big cat can travel tremendous distances, move largely under the cover of darkness and live surprisingly close to people without being regularly detected.
Photo by Chester Moore
Texas also offers enormous expanses of suitable hiding places, from the thick forests of East Texas to river bottoms, coastal marshes, South Texas brush country and sprawling ranches.
That doesn’t mean prides of African lions are secretly living in Texas. There is no evidence for anything remotely like that. The more reasonable question is whether individual exotic cats have occasionally escaped or been released and survived in the wild for some period of time.
That’s a very different proposition.
What About the Other Mystery Cats?
I’ve investigated unusual cat reports for decades, and not all of them involve animals described as lions.
Some people report exceptionally large cats. Others describe unusual coloration or physical characteristics that don’t seem to fit what they expect from a mountain lion or bobcat. I’ve also personally investigated enormous cat tracks that raised some fascinating questions.
Tracks aren’t proof by themselves. Mud can enlarge an impression, overlapping tracks can create strange shapes and photographs can make judging scale difficult. Any responsible investigation has to consider those possibilities.
But unusual tracks combined with credible eyewitness reports are worth investigating rather than simply dismissing.
Evidence Is What Matters
There is a big difference between asking whether an exotic cat could be roaming Texas and claiming that one is.
Photographs and video are valuable. Clear tracks can provide additional clues. Hair, scat or other biological material could potentially provide much stronger evidence, particularly if DNA analysis were possible.
Until that kind of evidence exists in an individual case, these reports should be treated as reports—not confirmed animals. That doesn’t make them uninteresting. In fact, that’s exactly why I continue investigating them.
Texas is big enough, wild enough and has enough exotic wildlife that unusual animals sometimes turn up where they aren’t supposed to be.
Does that mean every report of a mystery cat is an escaped exotic? Certainly not. But could an African lion or another exotic cat occasionally escape into the Texas wilds and remain undetected for a time?
That’s a question worth investigating.
Chester Moore
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When Colossal Biosciences announced the birth of three genetically engineered wolves carrying key characteristics of the extinct dire wolf, the reaction was immediate. News outlets around the world proclaimed the return of an Ice Age predator that disappeared more than 10,000 years ago. Whether these animals represent true de-extinction or highly modified gray wolves remains the subject of scientific debate, but the announcement accomplished something few conservation stories ever do—it captured the world’s attention.
After spending time researching the project and interviewing Matt James, Chief Animal Officer of Colossal Biosciences and Executive Director of the Colossal Foundation, I found myself thinking less about the dire wolf and more about another wolf whose future remains uncertain. While the dire wolf may dominate headlines, I believe the real conservation story centers on the critically endangered red wolf and how technologies developed through de-extinction research could ultimately help preserve living species rather than simply recreate extinct ones.
Listen to the Dark Outdoors Podcast
I explore this topic in much greater detail in Dark Outdoors Podcast | Episode 079, examining the science behind the dire wolf project, the discovery of Galveston’s Ghost Wolves, and what these developments could mean for the future of wildlife conservation. I talk directly with Matt James of Colossal Bioscience.
James emphasized throughout our conversation that Colossal’s mission extends far beyond recreating extinct animals. He views the dire wolf project as a demonstration of technologies that could someday prevent modern species from disappearing altogether.
“The big vision of Colossal Biosciences is simply to make extinction a thing of the past. The dire wolf project is proof of concept, but it’s also about creating tools that can prevent other animals from following the same fate.”
The project itself began with remarkably limited material—a 13,000-year-old tooth and a skull estimated to be more than 70,000 years old. From those ancient remains, researchers recovered dramatically more genetic information than had ever been available from the species.
“We got 500 times more data than we’d ever had on the dire wolf genome. That allowed us to identify the key areas that make a dire wolf unique, and then make those edits into the gray wolf genome.”
Rather than cloning an intact dire wolf, scientists used gray wolves as the genetic foundation and introduced carefully selected edits that produced animals expressing many of the characteristics associated with the extinct predator. James noted that restraint was intentional, with animal welfare guiding every step of the process.
“People ask, why not make 20,000 edits? But this is about welfare. We made 20 carefully chosen edits to get the core phenotypes while ensuring the animals’ health.”
Why the Red Wolf May Be the Bigger Story
While the dire wolf project understandably generated worldwide attention, it immediately reminded me of another story unfolding much closer to home. For years, I have investigated the mysterious canids now known as the Ghost Wolves of Galveston Island. Animals that many people assumed were simply coyotes turned out to carry significant red wolf ancestry, revealing that valuable genetics had persisted in the wild long after many believed they had disappeared.
That discovery has the potential to reshape red wolf conservation because today’s population descends from an extremely small founding group captured during the 1970s. Every red wolf alive today traces its ancestry to those few animals, leaving the species with limited genetic diversity.
James believes that represents one of the greatest challenges facing long-term recovery.
“There are about 250 animals in the captive breeding population, and they all came out of 14 animals. Only 12 of those ever bred, and really only about eight lines continue. That’s not a lot of diversity. We need to inject new diversity into that group if we’re going to see a robust recovery.”
The discovery of Ghost Wolves suggests that some of that lost diversity may still exist. According to James, Colossal has begun cloning selected animals from those Gulf Coast populations with the hope of preserving and eventually expanding valuable red wolf genetics.
“Despite a complete lack of management, those genes have survived. What we’re doing is starting to clone animals from that population to create a captive group. The idea is to enhance red wolf representation and reduce coyote integration, creating a tool the Fish and Wildlife Service could use.”
A New Chapter in Conservation
These developments represent more than an interesting scientific experiment. They signal the arrival of a new era in wildlife conservation, one in which cloning, gene editing, genomic sequencing, and reproductive technologies may become valuable additions to traditional conservation practices.
None of these innovations replace habitat protection, responsible wildlife management, or public support for conservation. Instead, they offer additional tools that could strengthen recovery efforts for species facing genetic bottlenecks or declining populations.
The ethical questions surrounding these technologies remain significant. Conservationists must consider where resources should be invested, how much human intervention is appropriate, and whether de-extinction should ever take precedence over protecting species that still survive in the wild. Those discussions are only beginning, but they are conversations the conservation community cannot afford to ignore.
For me, the greatest significance of the dire wolf project isn’t that it looks back toward an Ice Age predator. It’s that it points toward a future where the same technologies might help ensure animals like the red wolf never become extinct in the first place. The Ghost Wolves of the Texas coast remind us that nature often preserves hope in unexpected places, and modern genetics may finally provide the tools to unlock that potential.
Chester Moore
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As storm clouds loomed over the coastal prairie and low, rumbling thunder echoed in the distance, I quickened my pace.
Having placed a motion-sensing camera near a small, brackish marsh, there were still several hundred yards left to change film and perhaps validate sighting reports for the area.
After rounding a corner of the trail, I stopped for a second to adjust the hood of my jacket when I saw it.
Lying in the broad open was what appeared to be a wolf. A large wolf.
The red wolf.
Its coat was deep red and the head showed a prominent sagittal crest, broad snout, highlighted by large ears. Its tail was long but not too bushy and it had a white tip that matched the lining on the front of its legs.
Fewer than 40 yards separated us yet I wanted to move in closer. Slowly walking toward the animal without looking directly in its eyes, I closed the distance another 10 yards before it showed any signs of distress. Then it suddenly jumped to its feet and retreated with a gait only found in wolves.
Validation would not come from the lens of the camera but with my own two eyes in what was the most unique wildlife encounter of my life. A reader of my newspaper column tipped me off to the wolves in this area and following up had paid off in a magnificent way, but this encounter would not be the end of the story.
What was it that I saw?
Canis rufus, the red wolf, was common in the southeastern United States from the Carolinas to central Texas. However, popular theory has it predator control programs combined with habitat loss in certain areas reduced the population and by the 1970s, United States Fish and Wildlife Service officials declared the only remaining red wolves were in eastern Texas and southwestern Louisiana.
A newspaper clipping from 1986 from near the location the author had the encounter.
The common thinking was the population threatened itself by interbreeding with Canis latrans and Canis familiaris (domestic dog). In response to this, Service officials made Canis rufus the first-ever mammal put on the endangered species list and started a capture program in 1973 to find the last remaining “genetically pure” red wolves and found a captive breeding program. In 1980, Service officials considered the red wolf extinct in the wild and labeled only 14 of the hundreds of animals they caught as pure red wolves. These 14 specimens are the basis for all of the red wolves in the federal recovery program.
Research that is more recent suggests the red wolf is a fertile hybrid of the coyote and gray wolf. DNA analysis of 77 canids captured for the captive breeding program from 1973-1976 (including some of the first animals in the captive breeding program) revealed genotypes found only in southern coyotes or gray wolves. In fact, they even showed a gray wolf characteristic associated with the Mexican gray wolf, another highly endangered canid.
Without question there are animals in Texas that look virtually exactly like the red wolves in the federal captive breeding program. Whether they are genetically the same remains open to debate, but there are clearly wild canines other than coyotes on the landscape. Many of these animals occur along the upper Texas coast and are geographically close to the so-called “ghost wolves” documented in the Galveston region. These Galveston-area canids attracted scientific attention after genetic studies revealed they carried significant red wolf ancestry despite living outside the federal recovery program.
The animals I have documented share many of the same morphological characteristics associated with red wolves, including larger body size, broad skulls, long legs, reddish coloration, large ears, white markings, and a distinctly wolf-like gait. Given their proximity to the Galveston ghost wolves and their remarkable physical similarity to recognized red wolves, it is reasonable to suspect these animals may also possess significant red wolf DNA. Only comprehensive genetic testing can answer that question definitively, but the evidence suggests these coastal canids may represent an important reservoir of red wolf ancestry. The popular term for them is “coywolves.”
You can go to my YouTube channel and see numerous videos on this topic including the one below.
A landowner called late one Friday evening and said he had been feeding coyotes on his property in hopes of killing them before he built a facility there. He feared the coyotes would cause problems around tenants’ dogs and cats, so he planned to eliminate them. The evening before he called me, he sat out with his rifle and watched as three wolves came up to the dog food he had put out to lure coyotes.
“I looked through my scope and immediately noticed them as red wolves because of the articles I had seen in the paper and the fact I have seen lots of coyotes and knew this was no coyote,” he said.
I rushed over to the spot, set out my Trophy View motion-sensing video camera and that evening captured nearly 30 minutes of video of a beautiful red wolf eating dog food. The video is so long because the wolf can hear the camera running but cannot quite place the sound, so it takes a bite, runs off, looks around and takes another bite. The video is quite humorous to watch and shows something that is definitely not a pure coyote.
After the beautiful animal at the beginning of this story ran off, I walked toward one of my motion-sensing cameras and heard footsteps in the dry leaves behind me. When I turned around, I noticed the wolf I had just seen was following me. At a distance of only 10 yards, it showed no aggressive posturing but a general curiosity as to what I was doing in its habitat and perhaps more importantly how long I was going to stay.
As I locked eyes with it, I saw an untamed, majestic wildness that reminded me why I got into wildlife study to begin with. Then almost instantly, its eyes changed and a look of deep fear overcame it. It stared for a second, put down its ears and ran off into the brush.
I have pondered many times what that animal was thinking as we stared at one another and then another thought crossed my mind.
If a simple stare caused this proud creature to retreat into the brush, what could a growing human population starving for land to develop do to them? How many are there? Could some of these animals represent descendants of the same red wolf lineage once thought lost forever? These are questions I continually ponder.
At the end of the day, I say if it looks like a wolf and howls like a wolf, it is probably a wolf.
Or maybe, in this case, a wolf carrying the legacy of the red wolf.
Based on what we are learning from the Galveston ghost wolves and similar animals documented along the Texas coast, that possibility may be far greater than many ever imagined.
Chester Moore
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A story published on Louisiana Sportsman about a decade agocaused quite a stir within the wildlife community. It described both “chupacabra” sightings and that of what some described as hyenas.
The article, accompanied by an unusual game camera photograph, details a series of strange sightings reported across the state—encounters that some readers have linked to the legendary “chupacabra.”
For those unfamiliar with the term, “chupacabra,” which translates to “goat sucker,” refers to an alleged but scientifically unverified creature said to drain the blood from goats and other animals. Reports of the creature have circulated for decades, particularly in the southern United States and parts of Latin America.
Check out my lengthy assessment of alleged chupacabras.
While the photograph featured in the story does appear unusual at first glance, the article itself explains that the animal is not a mythical creature but a coyote suffering from mange. When animals lose their hair due to disease, their appearance can become dramatically altered. Over the years, I have seen numerous photographs of coyotes and foxes with mange that were incorrectly identified as chupacabras.
Although I have a lifelong interest in mysterious wildlife and believe that some unexplained creatures reported over the centuries may eventually be verified by science, I do not believe the chupacabra is one of them. Reports of chupacabra sightings only began appearing in the 1990s. By contrast, creatures such as sea serpents have been reported for centuries. Any animal allegedly as widespread as the chupacabra—from Puerto Rico to Texas—would have a much longer and more consistent history of sightings, even if known by different names.
Mangy canines are something most people rarely see, but that is changing. With game cameras now set across the landscape and the widespread use of cell phone cameras, more of these animals are being documented than ever before. As a result, images of mangy coyotes and foxes often generate media attention and public speculation.
Since the Louisiana Sportsman story appeared, I have read several interesting online comments. One hunter claimed that on two occasions he had seen animals resembling hyenas in East Texas. That immediately caught my attention, as someone once told me they had seen two “hyenas” in the Hill Country several years ago.
The usual explanation for such sightings is escaped exotic pets, but in reality, hyenas are not kept as private pets. While they exist in zoos, those facilities are well maintained, and the likelihood of multiple escapes occurring across different regions over several years is extremely low.
At a distance, a mangy coyote can indeed resemble a hyena. Though smaller in size, the posture, coloration, and lack of fur can create that illusion, especially in low light or brief encounters.
However, there are now captive hyenas in private hands at several locations in Texas. A viewer of my YouTube channel claims to have seen one road-killed in the same area he saw a road-killed warthog.
Could there be a few hyenas running around out there? It’s possible.
People who spend significant time outdoors occasionally experience strange or confusing encounters. With modern technology, those experiences are now shared widely and instantly, often fueling speculation before scientific explanations are considered.
One of the things I enjoy most about spending time in the woods is wondering what might exist just beyond the treeline.
The day I stop being intrigued by the mysteries of nature will be the day I find another pursuit in life. Fortunately, that day does not appear to be coming anytime soon. There is always something unusual, strange, or mysterious left to investigate—and perhaps even encounter.
Chester Moore
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At first, it reminded people of black panther stories… but this was something different.
The more I looked, the more certain I became: this was a jaguarundi — one of the most elusive wild cats in the Americas, and not something you expect to see crossing a road in broad daylight.
It walked calmly in front of the truck, disappeared into the grass, and left me completely stunned.
Check out the video above and let me know what you think.
Chester Moore
Moore To Host Shark Seminar Saturday At Houston Fishing Show
The Houston Fishing Show at the George R. Brown Convention Center will feature a special seminar by Chester Moore, Editor-In-Chief of Texas Fish & Game and founder of the Gulf Great White Sharks Society.
Moore’s seminar, titled “Giant Sharks of the Texas Coast,” will take place at 1:45 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 21. The presentation will focus on recent developments involving shark populations along the Texas coast.
Moore will discuss an increase in sightings and activity of great white sharks and other large shark species in the Gulf of Mexico. Topics will include tracking data of great whites near the Flower Gardens National Marine Sanctuary, efforts to locate rare and large dusky sharks in Texas waters, and accounts of historically large sharks in the region.
The seminar will also highlight ways the public can get involved in conservation projects focused on large and rare shark species.
Attendees will receive a free Gulf Great White Shark Society decal. Kids are welcome, and the first 10 children at the event will get a free shark book courtesy of the Society.
The seminar is part of the Houston Fishing Show’s educational schedule.
For decades, people across the United States have reported something that science insists shouldn’t exist:
A jet-black mountain lion.
From rural Texas to the Appalachian Mountains, eyewitnesses have described large black cats slipping through the woods, crossing roads at night, or appearing briefly on trail cameras before vanishing again. Some call them “black panthers” but most are describing a mountain lion-totally black in color.
For decades, people across the southern United States have reported seeing unusually large wildcats — often identified as Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis) — despite the species not being officially confirmed in the Deep South.
These sightings have fueled long-standing rumors of secret lynx stocking programs, whispered explanations passed through hunting camps and rural communities.
Similar to past mountain lion misidentification stories in the South, reports of “lynx” often reveal how unfamiliar wildlife, poor lighting, and size exaggeration can create persistent legends.
But where did these stories really come from? In this investigation, I examine the biology and confirmed range of the Canada lynx, how it differs from the far more common bobcat (Lynx rufus), and why misidentification has played such a powerful role in Southern wildlife lore.
This documentary explores whether Canada lynx have ever occurred in the American South, how they differ from bobcats, and why generations of Southerners have reported seeing “lynx” where none are officially recognized. Even popular references reflect this confusion.
A famous “souped-up wildcat” joke told by comedian Jerry Clower illustrates how people have long described unusually large or intimidating wildcats using the word “lynx,” regardless of species.
Jerry Clower talked about a “lynx” in Mississippi.
By separating rumor from record, folklore from biology, and perception from documented range, this film traces how the idea of “lynx in the South” took hold — and what the real history actually shows.
Chester Moore
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For decades, people across Texas and the Southwest have reported strange hairless creatures attacking livestock — animals many claimed were the legendary Chupacabra.
But the real explanation is just a strange and we have it on my latest YouTube video.
In this Dark Outdoors® video episode and wildlife investigatio cross-over I break down the true wildlife science behind “Chupacabra” sightings and shows how coyotes, foxes, raccoons — and even bears — suffering from severe mange can transform into nightmarish creatures.
You’ll see:
What coyotes with mange REALLY look like
Why mange causes extreme hair loss, blackened skin, and deformities
How predators change behavior when sick, making them seem “mysterious” or “unnatural”
The difference between myth, hoax, and legitimate wildlife cases
This was an interesting topic to tackle and it’s one that will probably generate some controversy because I do believe there is a pretty simple solution to a very strange legend.
