Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute

The Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute at Texas A&M University-Kingsville is the leading wildlife research organization in Texas and one of the finest in the nation. Established in 1981 by a grant from the Caesar Kleberg Foundation for Wildlife Conservation, the Institute operates as a nonprofit organization and depends financially upon private contributions and faculty grantsmanship. Our mission is to provide science-based information for enhancing the conservation and management of Texas wildlife.

As C.L. Douglas described in Cattle Kings of Texas (1989), South Texas is “…a land of mesquite and sand; of prickly pear and chaparral; of clouds and sea and sky; of vaqueros and cattle.” We might add it is also the land of 625 species, including 34 amphibians, 409 birds, 80 mammals and 102 reptiles. Nearly seventy percent of all vertebrates in Texas occur in South Texas. In fact, the South Texas brush country and the near pristine Laguna Madre contain the last great wildlife habitat remaining in Texas.

The faculty and students of the Institute have long-standing, trusted relationships with private landowners on whose land they conduct research. An abiding respect for private landowners and the work they have done to protect wildlife and habitat is the hallmark of the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute. In fact, the Institute works with hunters, wildlife managers, conservationists and policy makers alike to provide scientific research that is used to manage and conserve game and non-game species.

The Institute includes 25 outstanding research scientists, covering a wide range of specialties. The diverse faculty facilitate the often complex wildlife-related research studies and keep the Institute on the cutting edge in advancing conservation and management of wildlife. Modern high-tech facilities, specially designed wildlife study pens, and rangeland tracts provide an ideal environment for conducting quality research by Institute faculty.

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