SAN ANTONIO – The year is almost over, and we would be remiss if we didn’t highlight some of the top animal stories on KSAT in 2025.
From pet Fiesta fashion to new additions to the San Antonio Zoo, this year has had no shortage of animal-related headlines.
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Below are some of the stories featured in 2025.
JANUARY-MARCH
Five spider monkeys rescued from smuggling at Border Patrol checkpoint near Kingsville
The U.S. Border Patrol made an unusual discovery in mid-January when agents found several spider monkeys during a checkpoint inspection.
Border Patrol agents at the Javier Vega Jr. checkpoint near Kingsville found five spider monkeys being smuggled across the U.S.-Mexico border, according to a social media post from the agency’s Rio Grande Valley sector.
The Border Patrol’s social media post said the agents cared for the animals and coordinated their transfer to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Tiny crab found in Gulf of Mexico goes viral
Also in January, the internet found a new animal to swoon over. A baby king crab, known scientifically as Neolithodes agassizii, was found by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries’ Sanctuaries division during an operation in the Gulf of Mexico, according to posts on X.
A video posted by the NOAA of the crab went viral, causing several users to make memes, draw fanart and simply gush over the little-known species.
Rare mammoth tusk found at West Texas ranch
A deer hunter at a West Texas ranch discovered a rare mammoth tusk in March. The unusual discovery was made at the O2 Ranch, a privately owned ranch in Brewster and Presidio counties.
O2 Ranch Manager Will Juett said he was “skeptical when a deer hunter showed a picture of what he thought was a fossil.”
Researchers quickly verified that the finding was, in fact, a mammoth tusk.
“We realized pretty quickly that there was not more to the skeleton; it was just an isolated tusk that had been separated from the rest of the remains,” said one of the researchers.
It’s a boy! San Antonio Zoo hosts gender reveal for Tupi, the baby capybara
The San Antonio Zoo announced Tupi, the baby capybara, is a boy at a gender reveal in early March.
Tupi, pronounced “two-pea,” was born on Dec. 3, 2024, and is the first capybara to be born at the zoo since 2000.
Videos posted online have earned the baby capybara fans around the world.
One video posted by the zoo showed Tupi being abruptly woken up after a bird landed on him. That video amassed more than 300,000 views on X.
Another video showed Tupi startled by a squirrel.
APRIL-MAY
Furry friends show off Fiesta fashion
Check out some of the shared photos viewers sent to KSAT Connect showing their furry friends’ Fiesta flair.
San Antonio Zoo welcomes pygmy falcon chick, first born at the zoo in more than 20 years
In April, the San Antonio Zoo announced it welcomed a baby pygmy falcon chick, a small predator with the “biggest personality,” which was born one month earlier.
The pygmy falcon hatched fully feathered and weighed 6.5 grams, which is slightly larger than a quarter, the zoo said.
The pygmy falcon is the 12th chick to hatch at the San Antonio Zoo and the zoo’s first since 2004.
Puppies rescued after jumping from I-35 overpass onto roof of downtown dog daycare
Two puppies were rescued after jumping from an Interstate 35 overpass onto the roof of a downtown dog daycare in late May.
The dogs jumped from the overpass onto Lucy’s Doggy Daycare and Spa, the business said in a Facebook post.
The San Antonio Fire Department and Animal Care Services were called to the scene, The dogs were rescued from the roof using a firetruck ladder, the post said.
Both dogs were OK.
JUNE-AUGUST
SeaWorld San Antonio mourns loss of Kamea the orca
SeaWorld San Antonio grieved the loss of Kamea, the youngest orca in the pod, in June.
SeaWorld says Kamea brought joy and inspiration to millions of guests over the years. She was the youngest animal in the pod at 11 years old, according to SeaWorld.
Sea World San Antonio now has four whales in the pod. The oldest, Takara, is 33 years old.
What are those swarms of flying insects following rainstorms?
A KSAT Connect user shared a video of flying insects in mid-June following San Antonio’s record-breaking rainfall.
When San Antonio receives multiple inches of rain and has lingering humidity and moisture in the air, it can lead to an increase in the bug population.
Desert termites are native to the San Antonio area. Many of them can be seen due to a combination of the right weather conditions and the insects’ biology.
If you have desert termites, there’s no need to call a pest control service.
The insects process up to half of the dead roots and litter in grasslands, according to the AgriLife Extension website.
Rare illegal pet kangaroo ordered to be removed from San Antonio city limits, ACS says
A rare illegal pet kangaroo was ordered to be removed from the San Antonio city limits after it caused “multiple injuries” to the owner’s son, according to Animal Care Services.
The 11-year-old boy suffered at least one bite to his back on June 29 at his home on the far Northwest Side.
As a precaution, the boy’s mother took him to a doctor, who reported the incident to ACS.
After the incident, the male red kangaroo was placed in a 30-day quarantine at the San Antonio Zoo.
Following the kangaroo’s quarantine, ACS gave its owner, Carlos Cavazos, seven days to find his pet a new home outside of San Antonio. He was also issued several citations and ordered to pay more than $500 for quarantine fees to ACS.
On July 30, Cavazos said he relocated the kangaroo to a friend’s ranch outside Austin.
Mother calls for changes after octopus latches onto son at San Antonio Aquarium
A woman called for changes at the San Antonio Aquarium after she said an octopus latched onto her son.
In videos posted to TikTok, Britney Taryn described the giant Pacific octopus latching onto her 6-year-old son, Leo.
Taryn told KSAT that she and Leo had been members at the aquarium for years. Leo is an animal lover, and he said his favorite part of visiting was seeing the octopus.
The aquarium responded to KSAT’s request for comment on the video days after the story was published, writing, in part, that Taryn “leaned her child over the exhibit barrier, allowing him to reach into the habitat without staff supervision.”
Taryn disputed the aquarium’s statement in a written statement to KSAT.
“The San Antonio Aquarium’s response is not only false; it is defamatory and appears to be a deliberate attempt to divert attention from the serious issues at hand,” she said, in part.
KSAT confirmed with the Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA) that the San Antonio Aquarium is not accredited or regulated by the organization.
The AZA also told KSAT that only 10% of USDA-licensed facilities meet the AZA’s gold standard for zoos, aquariums and science centers.
The San Antonio Aquarium passed its latest inspection by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, although octopuses do not fall under the Animal Welfare Act and are not subject to AWA regulations.
KSAT Explains: South Texas’ most beloved flying mammal has not always been valued
These flying hunters that come out at night are mammals that have gotten a bad rap over the years (think Dracula). South Texans, however, know their importance.
They call the region home between April and October.
Learn all about them on this KSAT Explains episode.
Artificial intelligence reunites San Antonio woman with her dog after it was missing for a month
A missing San Antonio pet was reunited with its owner after being lost for more than a month, thanks to artificial intelligence (AI).
Juliet Gonzalez’s elderly dog went missing on June 12 during a major rainfall event in San Antonio. Her pet is partially blind and hard of hearing, which made Gonzalez even more worried for the several weeks her dog was missing.
Gonzalez said she remained hopeful that someone had taken her dog in and cared for her.
After weeks of searching through the West Side, Gonzalez went online to look for answers.
She came across a free, nationwide database for missing pets, Petco Love Lost.
Run by the nonprofit Petco Love, the AI database allowed Gonzalez to enter photos to find matches of reported lost dogs.
“I looked on the site, and her picture was the first one that popped up,” Gonzalez said. “And I was, like, that’s her. That’s her!”
SEPTEMBER-DECEMBER
Universal City woman discovers rare hybrid bird in her backyard
A Universal City woman discovered a rare hybrid bird in her backyard.
Donna Currey, a retired U.S. Air Force veteran, said she was sitting on her porch three years ago when she noticed a blue jay that looked a little different.
Currey shared her pictures on social media to look for answers. That’s how Brian Stokes, a graduate student in ecology, evolution and behavior at the University of Texas at Austin, found her.
He confirmed the bird may be among the first examples of a hybrid animal that exists because of recent changing patterns in the climate.
Stokes took a quick blood sample of the strange bird, banded its leg to help relocate it in the future and let it go.
Currey said she recommends putting out raw, unsalted peanuts for the birds. That’s what this special hybrid bird came back earlier this summer.
Dog found abandoned with dozens of animals in Schertz has a new home
Athena was one of more than 60 cats and dogs that Schertz police said had been abandoned in July. KSAT 12 News was there as officers carried out the animals in crates from a home on Hillbrook Drive.
Cristina Western and Michael Ricioppo went to the shelter on a spontaneous trip. However, their family had been looking to replace a pet that had died. Little did they know at the time, though, that the happy dog they saw had been through such troubling times.
The couple wondered if Athena might have had some lasting effects from being abandoned, but she fit right in.
“We are so happy, so happy that we got her,” Western said. “I’m really lucky that I had that day off, and we happened to go to the shelter.”
New Congo Falls exhibit at San Antonio Zoo
Andi, Merry and Anaka moved to from Zoo Atlanta ahead of the opening of Congo Falls in December.
Ajari, a 25-year-old male western lowland gorilla from the Houston Zoo, also arrived ahead of the Congo Falls habitat opening.
Congo Falls opened on Dec. 13 and welcomed nearly 30,000 visitors for its first weekend at the zoo.
Plans are to have a two-acre environment with seven gorillas. The exhibit will blend three habitats, offering immersive viewing opportunities for guests.
This is the first time gorillas have been seen at the SA Zoo in 35 years.