Featured Creature

Featured Creature

Attention animal lovers:
Memorial Park Conservancy is trying to decide who will be our next Featured Creature!

Through Sunday, June 30, Park-users can vote to decide Memorial Park Conservancy’s next Featured Creature! There are two ways Park-users can participate in this exciting contest:

For every donation of $5, your favorite creature will receive 1 vote, and you will receive a limited-edition printable coloring page featuring your creature in Memorial Park! That way, you can increase the impact of your vote while giving back to this iconic urban greenspace!

The Creatures

Scroll through to see all the creatures

Feather Fawcett

Yellow-crowned night heron

Likes: Impressing Park-users with her beautiful plumage.

Dislikes: Overly enthusiastic paparazzi, this star of Hines Lake prefers spectators to keep their distance.

Fun Fact: In 2019, the yellow-crowned night heron was named the official bird of the City of Houston!

Benedict Scaleybatch

Green anole

Likes: Drama.

Dislikes: Admirers who never learned the lesson “look with your eyes, not your hands.”

Fun Fact: Benedict Scaleybatch, like all green anoles, has sticky feet that allow him to cling to almost any surface!

Kevin

Eastern gray squirrel

Likes: Amassing the greatest horde of acorns Memorial Park has ever seen!

Dislikes: Off-leash dogs!

Fun Fact: In the 19th century, eastern gray squirrels, like Kevin, were purposely introduced to urban parks around the United States to create a “bucolic atmosphere.”

Ricky Hoppy

American Bullfrog

Likes: Providing a live “music” experience for your visit to Hines Lake, whether you want it or not.

Dislikes: Nets, buckets, and any receptacles used to frog-nap unsuspecting bullfrogs–Hines Lake is my home!

Fun Fact: Bullfrogs can live 8-10 years in the wild!

Swim Shady

Pied-billed grebe

Likes: Crawfish, crawfish, and more crawfish!

Dislikes: Litter! He prefers a litter-free Hines Lake for him and his family!

Fun Fact: Like all grebes, Swim Shady and Ms. Shady take turns carrying their babies on their backs!