For ages Laguna Madre has sheltered myriad varieties of fish and shellfish, providing bounteous banquets for wildlife frequenting her shores.
Among the animals native to Padre are ’possum, jackrabbits, ground squirrels and pocket gophers. The days of the Padre coyote are limited due to encroaching civilization. People along the border swear the coyotes are fish eaters, also, and use their tails for fishing.
Once the colorful little Padre coyotes claimed top billing in a widely publicized coyote hunt. Accompanied by newspapermen and cameramen, under the direction of Dr. J. A. Jockaday of Port Isabel, five hundred men planned the hunt with the precision of military strategy. It piqued public interest like a Hollywood premiere. The coyotes were to be driven into an amphitheater to meet their destiny. The coyotes, however, outwitted their predators and only twenty-six were killed.
All along the beach, pale colored and square shelled, are the ghost crabs, skuttling across the sands, returning to their holes when danger threatens.
With a little time to leisurely explore, one can roam the island and peek into intimate secrets of Padre’s wildlife.
Bountiful Borderland
Padre Island itself is easily accessible by car, train, plane, boat or bus. Flying in, one can land at Brownsville International Airport (at the south), Corpus Christi Airport (at the north), Padre Beach Airport at Port Isabel, near the southern point of the Island.
Three causeways are now in use and another is being planned. At Corpus Christi, one may reach the island over the scenic Nueces County Causeway. From Port Isabel to the island, one mounts the three million dollar, two and one-half mile long Queen Isabella Causeway. Oldest of the three causeways is a wooden one which hops along the chain of islands from the mainland city of Aransas Pass, the Mustang Island community of Port Aransas, famous fishing haven. The fourth causeway is being planned to cross the Laguna Madre from Port Mansfield.
In the not too distant future, a scenic paved, multi-million dollar highway, reaching the full length of Padre Island, is in prospect. Travel from the northern end to the southern end of Padre is recommended on the mainland United States Highway 77 southward toward Brownsville, and then along Texas Highway 100 to Port Isabel and over the Queen Isabella Causeway to the island.