Asher Elbein

Asher Elbein is a freelance journalist and author based in Austin. His work has appeared in a bevy of Texas magazines such as the The Texas Observer, Texas Monthly, Texas Highways, The New York Times, Scientific American, and New York Magazine.

A coiled rattlesnake with its tongue out and a halo above its head on a blue background

Culture

Tarantulas, Coyotes, and Rattlesnakes: Put Some Respect on Their Names

Texas is a land of varmints. It’s a specific title, one not bestowed on every creature in the Lone Star State. The bison is not a varmint, because the bison is largely gone; the same can be said of the pronghorn, the wolf, the jaguar. To be a varmint