The Wild Side: The Photography of Bob Moorhouse & Wyman Meinzer

Nov. 19, 2006 - May 6, 2007

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Wyman Meinzer - National Literary Award for "Texas Lost: Vanishing Heritage"; 1997 State Photographer of Texas; Contributing Editor to Texas Wildlife Association magazine; John B. Sheppard Jr. Award, Texas State Historical Foundation; work has appeared on 50 national and international covers, 17 published works and 300-plus magazines; adjunct faculty member, Texas Tech University; Distinguished Alumnus, Texas Tech University College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources; married to Sylinda Meinzer; three children.

Bob Moorhouse - Inductee, Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame; Bronze Star, Texas Trail of Fame; Director, Texas & Southwest Cattle Raisers; Director, American Quarter Horse Association; Director, Working Ranch Cowboys Association; Director, Ranching Heritage Association; photo book and subject of numerous magazine articles; Distinguished Alumnus, Texas Tech University College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources; married to Linda Moorhouse; two children.

Click here to purchase the gallery guide for this exhibit.

Wild Turkey by Bob Moorhouse
(Meleagris gallopavo)
This large game bird, once common from southern Canada to central Mexico, has been reintroduced in many areas. The males’ red heads and wattles and blue facial skin are quite showy and, like the similar barnyard turkey, they make a distinctive gobbling call. Wild turkeys can fly but prefer to run from danger; at night they normally roost in trees. Many early settlers across the United States were quite pleased when they bagged a big turkey for Sunday dinner.

Scissor-Tailed Flycatcher by Bob Moorhouse
(Tyrannus forficatus)
This attractive bird has a most unusual tail, twice as long as its body and looking like a pair of slender scissors. Easily recognized when it flies after its usual food (airborne insects), it has a pale grey head, back and breast with hints of rose or salmon on its belly and under the wings. Young birds, seen here in the nest, will develop their amazing tails as they reach maturity. The state bird of Oklahoma is the scissor-tailed flycatcher.

Red-Tailed Hawk by Bob Moorhouse
(Buteo jamaicensis)
These robust hawks live all over North America, south to Panama and the West Indies, which explains the Jamaica in their scientific name. They often sit on power poles along Western roads, waiting to spot small movements that indicate prey on the ground below. Red-tailed hawks are quite useful in helping to control rodent populations, as the small mammals make up more than 85% of the bird’s diet. Though not practiced much in the U.S., young red-tails are selected for use in the ancient hunting sport of falconry.

Common Raccoon by Bob Moorhouse
(Procyon lotor)
Nocturnal carnivores, these attractive “masked bandits” are usually found near water. They are fond of fruits such as wild persimmons and grapes, nuts and acorns and where available, crayfish. While they hide away and sleep a great deal during bad weather, raccoons do not actually hibernate. Their name comes from the Algonquian Indian word for the animal, aroughcun.

American Wigeon by Wyman Meinzer
(Anas americana)
This photograph shows American wigeons in flight, displaying the broad, identifying patches of color on their wings. Wigeons are medium sized, surface-feeding ducks that have short, pale blue-gray bills. Sometimes these birds get a meal by following a diving duck and snatching the plant materials the other has brought up from deeper in the water. The female quacks, but the drake’s call is high pitched and sounds like a squeaky toy!

Lesser Prairie Chicken by Wyman Meinzer
(Tympanuchus pallidicinctus)
A grouse and kin to the greater prairie-chicken, both are now rare birds. The males are noted for their courtship displays, with unusual reddish air sacs that inflate at the neck and eyebrows and long, black feather tufts that raise up from the nape of the neck. Females do not have these features and look like more common grouse species. The habitat of the lesser prairie chicken once covered the Western prairies but is now restricted to small parts of the Texas Panhandle, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Kansas.

Northern Bobwhite by Bob Moorhouse
(Colinus virginianus)
The bobwhite is a chunky-bodied, popular game bird found from Texas eastward to the Atlantic Ocean, hence the reference to Virginia in its Latin name. The common name came from the "words" folks thought they heard in its call. Bobwhite lack the identifying crests of some other quail species but are a familiar sight in prairies, agricultural areas and open pinelands. Bobwhite and scaled quail are often found inhabiting the same areas.

Bison by Bob Moorhouse
(Bison bison)
Millions of wild buffalo once roamed huge areas of North America. Massive, humped creatures, the bison were hunted by Native Americans and later European settlers for their useful hides (known as buffalo robes during the fur trade) and meat until the end of the 19^th century. Almost decimated after the railroads crossed the plains, they are now managed privately or on public lands, providing commercial products on a much smaller scale. Today, low-fat buffalo burgers can be found in many stores and restaurants.

Northern Harrier by Wyman Meinzer
(Circus cyaneus)
This sleek bird of prey is interesting in several unique ways. First, it is the only polygamous hawk, and the males may breed with up to four females in one season. Next, the harrier can fly for 40 percent of daylight hours and accrue more than 100 miles a day. And no other hawk has a “facial disk” of feathers that helps the bird to hear remarkably well. This feature makes them look quite owlish. Northern harriers fly low to the ground, circling (Circus is the genus name) as they look and listen for their prey.

Black-Tailed Jackrabbit by Bob Moorhouse
(Lepus californicus)
A common sight on the grounds of the National Ranching Heritage Center, the rabbit with the huge ears likes to doze through the hottest part of the day. These herbivores graze on rangelands, and it has been estimated that 128 jackrabbits would eat as much as one cow or seven sheep. The speedy rabbits use their keen sight and hearing to avoid being eaten by their enemies, though losses are usually made up for because as many as six litters of babies are born yearly.

Elk by Bob Moorhouse
(Cervus canadensis)
Native elk (Cervus meriami) once roamed the Guadalupe Mountains of West Texas, but they became extinct around the turn of the 20^th century. Elk from North Dakota were imported to replace them in the 1920s. Several herds now range freely in Texas, and there are elk in enclosed game ranches. Rival males fight for the cows, loud bugling and crashing antlers proof of their virility and stamina. Bulls amass a harem but continue to ward off younger males, a tiring task that leaves them little time for food or sleep.

Coyote by Wyman Meinzer
(Canis latrans)
Coyotes are “victims of their own success,” according to one specialist. They adapt to nearly any region or landscape, being ousted by growing human populations, having to eat weird food or dodge speeding vehicles. Coyotes seem to simply regroup, give birth to more pups and get in more people’s way. As predators they are hated, hunted, persecuted and poisoned. However, coyotes may become aggressive toward each other. It could be competition for food or females or merely a way to encourage the young to head out on their own.

Burrowing Owl by Wyman Meinzer
(Athene cunicularia)
This small, intent-looking owl’s name refers to Athena, classical goddess of wisdom and the night; cunicularia means little digger or miner, appropriate for a bird that lives in a hole in the ground. Burrowing owls have white chin stripes and “eyebrows” and are usually seen in the daytime, bobbing up and down when agitated. This one peers over a snow-covered rise, eyes focused in a way that must mesmerize its prey.

Coyote by Wyman Meinzer
(Canis latrans)
“Trickster” stories featuring the coyote are common to a number of Native American groups. Such tales contain a lesson of some sort and are generally humorous, reflecting the coyote’s obvious intelligence. The animal’s name came via Mexico, from the ancient Nahuatl language of the Aztecs, as coyotl. Some Western pronunciations shorten the proper Spanish name to a two-syllable version that comes out like “KY-oat.”

Nine-Banded Armadillo by Bob Moorhouse
(Dasypus novemcinctus)
Only one species of armadillo is found in Texas, and it apparently arrived here about the time Texas became a state. Before the 1840s or ’50s, these odd critters were living across the Rio Grande in Mexico. They live in burrows and mainly eat insects but like berries too. Their shell is made of bony plates called scutes, something no other mammals have. The armadillo’s scientific family name, Dasypodidae, came from the Greek for “turtle-rabbit.”

Golden-Fronted Woodpecker by Wyman Meinzer
(Melanerpes aurifrons)
This colorful woodpecker is the most numerous of its family (Picidae) in Texas, but it can be found from the southwest of Oklahoma down through eastern Mexico. It frequents ranches, mesquite thorn forests and city parks throughout central Texas. Golden-fronted woodpeckers look similar to the red-bellied and ladder-backed: all have black-and-white barred backs, and the males of each species have patches of red on their heads. Aurifrons means gold front, which this bird has in addition to its red markings.

White-Tailed Deer by Bob Moorhouse
(Odocoileus virginianus)
This species is the most numerous and most widespread of all North American mammals. White-tail breeding rates are high, and some hunters who prefer mule deer worry needlessly that the “muleys” will be forced out. Bucks often spar with each other, testing their new antlers to determine the dominance hierarchy for the coming mating season. Serious fighting is more likely to occur during peak breeding time when two large bucks are after the same doe. Such battles may cause injuries or even death to the deer involved.

Gray Fox by Wyman Meinzer
(Urocyon cinereoargenteus)
The gray fox is omnivorous and generally eats more plant materials than other foxes. It is also quite able to climb into trees to elude wild predators and hunting hounds, and in this rare photograph is seen way up in an agave! About the same size as the red fox, the gray’s tail is tipped with black while cousin red’s is white. Gray foxes are found all across the Southwest and most of the United States. They are also an important fur-bearing animal once popular with trappers.

Northern Harrier by Wyman Meinzer
(Circus cyaneus)
Males of this species are the lightest in color of all our common hawks. The females are not only much darker, they are 50 percent heavier and more than 12 percent larger than the males. While other hawks soar up high and like to perch on tall objects, northern harriers swoop closer to the ground, prefer to sit on fence posts instead of utility poles, and even nest down on a mound of dirt or vegetation. They used to be called marsh hawks, referring to habitat. The harrier appellation inspired the name of the amazing vertical-takeoff jets.

Pronghorn by Wyman Meinzer
(Antilocapra americana)
The pronghorn is the only member of its family, its genus name meaning “goat-antelope.” These extremely fast and graceful runners may reach speeds of 60 miles per hour. Both sexes have the black horns, though the males’ are much larger than the little spikes of the female. Our American antelope is the only animal in the world to shed its horns (not antlers) annually. This photograph captures a buck on the run, his pronged horns clearly visible.

Black-Tailed Prairie Dog by Bob Moorhouse
(Cynomys ludovicianus)
On their epic journey to the Pacific, Lewis and Clark wrote up the first scientific description of the prairie dog and managed to capture a live specimen to send to President Thomas Jefferson in 1805. They noted that the "village of those little dogs" was more than six feet deep under the ground and compared the noisy rodents to other animals: a mouth like a rabbit, legs short, tail like a ground squirrel, eyes like a dog and soft fur of a gray color.

Greater Roadrunner by Bob Moorhouse
(Geococcyx californianus)
This large, long-tailed bird is another symbol of the Southwest for many people, as well as a popular cartoon character. It is a member of the cuckoo family and carnivorous, often seen eating lizards and snakes – in this case the bird has taken both at once! Roadrunners make a soft cooing sound and also clack by rattling their beaks. Known by many names, one in Spanish is El Paisano, the countryman.

Pronghorn by Wyman Meinzer
(Antilocapra americana)
Pronghorns are plains animals truly suited to the open land. They rarely jump fences or brush barricades and may almost starve when enclosed by fencing although good vegetation is found just outside. Antelope, as they are commonly known, can go for long periods without drinking and can conserve body water. These game animals particularly like to eat flowers, including species poisonous to sheep and cattle.

Bobcat by Bob Moorhouse
(Lynx rufus)
These bob-tailed cats are shy and usually seen only as evening approaches. They eat small mammals such as ground squirrels, rabbits and mice, and sometimes domestic animals and poultry. Bobcats prefer rocky habitats and climb trees to avoid being preyed upon by other carnivores. They can swim and will if they have to. There was a huge increase in the taking of bobcats for their fashionable fur in the 1980s, but that has since declined.

Mule Deer by Wyman Meinzer
(Odocoileus hemionus)
Named for the big ears that look like those of a mule, these good-sized deer are popular game animals. They’re not graceful runners like white-tails, but they can bound across rough ground or easily clear a six-foot fence. The bucks, having battled each other for the available does, lose their antlers at the end of the rut and begin growing a new set of “weapons” almost immediately. The females usually give birth to twins the next spring or summer.

White-Tailed Deer by Bob Moorhouse
(Odocoileus virginianus)
These deer are the most important big game animal in Texas. They have adapted well to encroaching human populations and can eat a surprisingly large variety of plants, both grazing and browsing the vegetation available in their home range. Unfortunately, their common presence also makes them a frequent victim of accidents with automobiles. The pretty, spotted fawns are born in the spring and lose their distinctive coats when they molt in the fall.

Burrowing Owl by Bob Moorhouse
(Athene cunicularia)
Small, but with long legs, the burrowing owl is characteristically seen on fence posts when not on the ground. It is often found in prairie dog towns, open grassland and agricultural areas, where it nests in burrows. These owls are diurnal (daytime) birds, unlike many larger owls that hunt at night. Like other predators, the little owls have forward-facing eyes; prey animals’ eyes are on the sides of their heads.

Black-Tailed Prairie Dog by Wyman Meinzer
(Cynomys ludovicianus)
These "barking" ground squirrels were called "dogs of the prairie" by early French explorers and fur trappers. Living in huge colonies of deep burrows, the engaging little critters once numbered in the hundreds of millions in Texas alone. Large concentrations of prairie dogs can damage crops or compete with livestock, and in some places they have been targeted for removal, but eliminating them also has some negative consequences.

Red-Tailed Hawk by Bob Moorhouse
(Buteo jamaicensis)
Red-tailed hawks are the largest and most common of the buteos (or buzzard hawks) in the U.S. Found in several sometimes confusing colorings, with both light and dark phases, the immature birds may also resemble other species. Their wingspan stretches more than four feet across, making them very impressive in flight. The harsh and piercing cry of the red-tailed hawk has been used in movies to represent eagles and other hawks, adding the “clichéd sound of the wild” to numerous outdoor scenes.

Coyote by Bob Moorhouse
(Canis latrans)
A symbol of the Southwest, coyotes are depicted sitting and howling, head upwards – but this unusual image shows one running while baying. A century ago they were not found in East Texas, habitat of the now-extinct red wolf, but coyotes currently cover the entire state. These carnivores love rabbits but will eat almost anything from road-kill and small livestock to snakes, bugs and plants.

Coyote by Wyman Meinzer
(Canis latrans)
In the classic Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote cartoons first seen in 1949, the crafty coyote is always outsmarted by the bird. Wile E. orders contraptions from Acme to help him catch Road Runner but his plans fail miserably, leaving our hero frustrated yet again. In real life, coyotes usually succeed in getting tasty little critters or carrion for supper. To the Navajo, the coyote is God’s Dog, part of their creation stories and under divine protection. Perhaps that is why Canis latrans – literally barking dogs – will persevere.

Canada Geese by Wyman Meinzer
(Branta canadensis)
The most common and best-known geese in America, these big birds fly in V-shaped formations, honking noisily as they migrate. Canada geese are found at the playas that dot the West Texas countryside and within our city limits. Some geese have become year-round Lubbock residents, since they are adaptable and do well around humans. But their wild beauty is best appreciated en masse, flying across sunset horizons or threatening skies.

Copyright © 2003, National Ranching Heritage Center