Outdoors newsletter: Rare sighting of badger on Padre Island; What to know about invasive yellow-legged hornets

Videos show ‘bucket list’ sighting of badger on Padre Island (Tom Howe)

Hello and happy Friday, Rebecca Salinas here.

The week’s newsletter is all about interesting creatures. Why? Because animals — even insects — are fascinating, and second, because outdoor activities seem a little out of the question in this heat 😜.

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However, if you do plan on spending time outdoors this weekend, make sure to take extra caution, as we’re expecting to surpass triple-digit temperatures on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Yikes!

Get your outdoors fix by reading this week’s content below!


Videos show badger hunting for crabs on beach

Videos show ‘bucket list’ sighting of badger on Padre Island (Tom Howe)

When Tom Howe visited Padre Island last week, he didn’t expect to see a badger in broad daylight, much less on the beach hunting for crabs.

“It’s a very interesting place with surprises each day,” Howe told KSAT, adding that he’s started to call it “Billy the Badger” since the sighting gained traction online.

Howe saw the animal — what he says is a “bucket list” sighting — by coincidence on Tuesday, Aug. 15.

This is just one of Howe’s interesting wildlife sightings; he said he recently saw a badger in Yellowstone and he’s also seen deer on the Padre Island beach.

Click here to read how his fishing trip went from bad luck to a silver lining.


Could invasive yellow-legged hornets come to South Texas? It’s possible.

A new invasive hornet that is a close cousin of the “murder hornet” otherwise known as the Asian giant hornet, is invoking fear after one was found recently near Savannah, Georgia. (Danel Solabarrieta via Creative Commons, KSAT)

The following was written by digital journalist Cody King.

A new invasive hornet that is a close cousin of the “murder hornet,” otherwise known as the Asian giant hornet, is invoking fear after one was found recently near Savannah, Georgia.

The fear isn’t due to the yellow-legged hornet imposing dangers to humans -- rather, it’s the impact they could have on the agriculture industry or the devastation they could put on honeybee colonies.

This is also the first time one of these hornets has been found alive in the U.S.

According to Georgia agriculture officials, eradication efforts are currently underway by multiple agencies to put a stop to these pests from spreading to other areas.

An associate professor of agriculture at Texas A&M University spoke to KSAT about whether it’s possible for these pests to spread to South Texas, and if so, what that could mean.

Click here to read about the possibility of the hornets venturing to Texas.


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Have a great weekend,

Rebecca Salinas


About the Author
Rebecca Salinas headshot

Rebecca Salinas is the Digital Executive Producer at KSAT 12 News. A San Antonio native, Rebecca is an award-winning journalist who joined KSAT in 2019.

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