Texas State Large Mammal – Longhorn

The longhorn was adopted as the Texas large state mammal on June 16, 1995. The state held a mock election with hundreds of elementary school children to decide on the state mammal. Support for the longhorn and armadillo was equally divided so the state decided to create a designation for small state mammal and large state mammal. Longhorns differ in color and can have horns that measure up to seven feet from tip to tip. More than 10 million were herded through Texas following the Civil War which helped provide stability to the state’s economy. The legislation referred to the longhorn whose “distinctive profile commands an immediate association with the State of Texas nationwide and is fittingly used as a visual symbol.”