There are several high quality institutions that offer anecdotal references to Axis populations. For example, according to Texas Tech University , Axis deer are now the most abundant exotic ungulate in Texas.
Anyone driving through the Texas Hill Country can believe in their abundance. The Texas Hill Country and Edwards Plateau host a similar albeit slightly cooler climate as their native habitat and provide a similar combination of cover. The area also provides ample nutrition through grasses, forbs, and browse. This combination, along with their continued introduction into new areas by ranch stocking has created a perfect scenario for a rise in population. Axis Deer are grazers and focus on eating a broad variety of food; including grass, forbs, and browse.
This is in contrast to White-tailed Deer who are much more selective, eating predominantly forbs and browse. To learn more about what White-tail eat, I have another article that goes much more in depth about White-Tailed Diets in Texas here. Axis seem to prefer short green grasses but will dine on Little Bluestem, Indian Grass, SwithGrass, paspalums, and gramas. A study conducted by Henke et al. Axis deer are more active by day than by night.
Their activity seems to peak in the couple of hours post dawn and pre-dusk. They tend to avoid rugged areas and spend most time congregating on flatter terrain.
Herds can consist of several family groups and can range in size from just a few animals to well over Axis social behavior is much more like Elk than White-tail. Adult and young males will actively participate in the social structure of the herd. Axis bucks will also bugle and bellow similar to Elk while in rut, and both sexes will bark when alarmed Axis Deer: Texas Tech University. Axis deer reproduce year round but most breeding occurs in early summer May-July resulting in predominately single fawn births the following spring.
They reproduce consistently, most hunters find it rare to harvest an Axis doe who is not pregnant or nursing. There is no general consistency to which time of the year bucks maintain and shed their antlers. Bucks with hard antlers can be found year round even in the same herd. This results in an ongoing production of fawns from the herd.
A recent article posted by HillCountryAlliance. This census indicates an issue that many biologists and landowners have feared, that Axis can and will out-compete our beloved White-Tailed Deer. View the article here. Axis deer certainly compete with White-Tailed Deer as they co-exist in Texas. Join the discussion on our new social platform Texjas.
Subscribe for Hill Country news, events and more! Here are five Facts about Texas deer that you might not know:. South Texas Grows Them Big. T exas is Home to 3. They run fast and leap high. Talk about high-tailing it out of danger. White-tailed deer can run as fast as 45 miles per hour.
They also can leap up to 9 feet high and nearly 30 feet long. They have various forms of communication. The little fawns have a bleating sound, a high-pitched call that their mothers can hear. As for scents, white-tails have glands on their foreheads and hind legs to mark territory.
The guys butt heads over the ladies. During mating season in mid-November through early December, white-tailed bucks compete with one another to breed with does. This breeding time, known as the rut, sees all sorts of males lock antlers to woo a mate. The fellas focus so much on the females they rarely eat or rest during rutting season, so the hangry and sleep-deprived bucks can get really grouchy and aggressive. Spot the spotted young.
In spring, females give birth to one or two spotted young called fawns, which lose their dots in summer. Those little deer are just fine, so leave them alone.
In these habitats sika deer are only active during dark hours of the night. Sika deer are known to live in small to large herds or individually. Herds form and become larger in the fall and winter months creating dense populations.
Breeding season is identified by characterisitc rut behavior exhibited by male sika deer from late August to October. Males will compete with other males for females by selecting a mating territory and defending it by parallel walking, screaming, and eventually fighting.
Male-male competitions are very aggressive and can often result in the death of the losing stag. Mating occurs post-competition with litters of one calf born in May or June. Sika deer are native to Japan and Southern Sibera, but have spread to over 77 countries due to intentional introduction for game food or accidentally because of habitat loss. In the state of Texas, sika deer became established rapidly due to favorable environmental conditions with free range populations reaching over 11, by Habitat : Sika deer prefer habitats with lush vegetation for feeding that are surrounded by forests for shelter and places to hide.
With a strong preference for warmer weather the sika deer easily became established in the piney forests of Texas. Sika deer can also be found in gardens and farmland foraging for food. Management of sika deer in the United States is facilitated by legalized hunting with required permits released by local parks and wildlife authorities.
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