AXIS DEER

Where they came from, what they are like, and how they stole our heart…

The other day I met a real nice couple from out of state who were here visiting the hill country area for the first time.  As usual the conversation started by confirming the most authentic Mexican food spots and BBQ joints in the area.  Let’s just say the next 30 minutes ran off quicker than runny queso on a fresh tostada at Garcia’s, or juicy beef rib meat from the bone at 2M.  After deciding their dinner plan, they went on to tell me a story from the previous day.  

With excitement and anticipation they explained, “We were driving down some county road yesterday listening to Earnest Tubb on the way to Luckenbach, when suddenly we saw this ‘huge’ herd of Bambis out in a field!”  They ended with, ‘out in a field’… bug eyed, confused and anxious for an explanation.  I answered the call by sharing some of the history and biology behind those Bambis.  They were grateful for the explanation and in Earnest Tubb fashion left with a “Thanks a Lot”!  True Story.

ORIGIN 

Axis deer, known as “Chital” on their native Indian sub-continent, are well admired and thought by many to be the most attractive deer in the world. Their native habitat ranges from the foothills of the Himalayas and stretches southward to the sub-tropical forests along the Southern tip of India.  This type of range indicates a wide tolerance for habitat suitability, and in 1932 Axis deer were introduced into the Edwards Plateau region of Texas.  They adapted to the environment naturally and now call over 90 counties home.  In 2019 the population was estimated at an impressive 125,000+, although meager in comparison to the estimated 2.6 million feral hogs or 3.6 million white-tailed deer. 

Axis deer reproduce year round and you can find both hard antlered bucks and does in estrus at any given time.  They typically breed either during the summer months, or during the winter months, with May-Aug being the predominant breeding period in Texas.  Bred female groups will be pot bellied (impregnated) and without any hard antlered males hanging around.  Males carrying hard antlers will be in rut actively breeding does in estrus.  That’s the short story.

LIKE MINDS

The biology and habitual nature of Axis deer is what always intrigued my interest in them the most.  How they relate with each other, operate, and adapt to their environment is fascinating to watch and complex to understand.  Often when in the field whether it be Texas or anywhere else I come across a correlation between various game species that helps me understand the mind behind that animal better. 

In my humble opinion, there are two game animals that seem to carry a lot of the same habits and attributes of Axis that you probably wouldn’t expect:  Rocky Mountain Elk and Sika Deer.  On the lesser side of things, Sika and Axis are both incredibly cagey, quirky, and strangely mysterious in how they live and operate.  On the greater side, the correlation between the foundational habits and character traits of Elk, and what I have consistently witnessed within the Axis herds I have been studying, is quite compelling.

First and foremost, Elk and Axis are both very unpredictable in their timing and movements. You cannot pattern or anticipate their behavior like whitetail deer, and in large they are much less likely to utilize game feeders or watering stations.  Additionally, their home range and area of travel is much greater than the whitetail, especially with elk. 

They both tend to spend most of their time holed up somewhere private and secluded near a fresh water source.  These places almost always lie where the winds from every direction drift straight into their nostrils and offer at least one reliable back door for quick escapes.  Both species have the ghost effect, where they suddenly and unexpectedly appear before you, then disappear just as quickly in an eerie like fashion.  Like fog in the night, they evoke a level of mystery in our own reality, innately drawing the human spirit to investigate the how’s and why’s of it all. 

The icing on the correlation cake though is that they share almost identical social behavior, structure, and transitional patterns through the breeding season and year as a whole.  In both cases, when the rut is nearing, male bachelor groups and female groups in the area will merge together eventually forming a larger mixed herd.  During this time they reestablish themselves, get acquainted, and then prepare for breeding by separating into independent smaller mixed groups for the rut.  They also speak a similar language… bull elk bugle and grunt, axis bucks similarly roar and bellow, the females of both species chirp and mew, and they all produce a high pitched bark when alarmed. 

Regardless, there is clearly a lot that can be said about this remarkable non-native ungulate.  From their eye catching intricately patterned white spots and bright reddish brown coat, to their chirp and roar style of communication, they have caught the attention of every wildlife lover in the state and offer an undisputably delectable cuisine.  Give me an Axis ham steak and I’ll show you the best Schnitzel you’ve ever had.  They are a highly respected and valued addition to the land, especially to those of us who appreciate the simple things in life the most… like simply seeing a cool animal standing on Texas dirt.

So what is the moral of the whole story?  I’m not sure either.  But if you want to learn how to hunt elk out west, you need to think like an elk.  To think like an elk, hunt Axis deer in Texas.

FINDING A BALANCE 

The flip side of the Axis coin is the impact that their flourishing population can have on the carrying capacity of the land.  This can lead to depredation and potential disease among both domestic livestock and native wildlife.  Landowners and wildlife biologists have done an excellent job managing the balance but it’s an ongoing effort that has to be reassessed annually.

Depredation involves a ‘dietary overlap’ between wildlife species and domestic livestock.   An understanding of forage needs and the competitive nature between ungulate species is needed for proper management.  For example, Axis graze on a broad variety of grasses, forbs and browse.  They prefer shorter green grasses but will dine on little blustem, Indian grass, switchgrass, paspalums, and gramas.  Whitetail deer are a little more picky primarily focusing on forbs and browse, but will eat grasses as well.  The difference that puts the whitetail at risk, is that they do not digest grasses efficiently which makes them more susceptible to depredation. Food habits of aoudad (barbary) sheep, blackbuck antelope, axis deer, fallow deer, and sika deer were studied in the Edwards Plateau Region of Texas. The study suggested that all five exotics have the ability to compete directly for forage with the white-tailed deer.

The impact of this dietary overlap, difference in digestion efficiency, and competitive nature of our ungulate species can be easily witnessed after naturally occurring hardships… like the devastating winter freeze of 2020 we just went through and the loss of so many animals of various species.  This is a crucial time to pay attention and get a good grasp on what was lost.  At the same time this is a great opportunity to take advantage of, in that we have the ability to bring back and re-create the ideal balance between species that may have been out of wack in some areas. 

The other concern is of ‘disease control’ which mainly roots from two things; Multi-Species contact, and over abundance of wildlife in one area.  It should be noted, disease in wildlife species occurs naturally already… it is mother natures way of managing itself.  The difference here is that we as stewards have the ability to help avoid these things from occurring no matter the root cause.  This gives us the opportunity to bypass large fluctuations in wildlife populations that would be occurring naturally, by maintaining a harmonious balance between species and nature through the benefit of controlled harvest management programs and top notch land management practices here in Texas.

Some of the encountered diseases out there are; ‘Malignant Catarrhal Fever’ (MCF), an infectious viral disease that has been documented throughout the world, ‘Bluetongue Virus’ (BTV) which I saw take out a massive number of Pronghorn Antelope in south central Montana and whitetail along the milk river, ‘Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease Virus’ (EHDV), which is transmitted from biting midges, gnats, and mosquitos rather than from animal to animal, and the more familiar Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) which is a transmissible neurological disease caused by abnormal proteins called prions, and has been found in at least the U.S., Canada, Norway, South Korea.

We primarily want to protect and maintain a healthy stronghold of our treasured native wildlife, while finding the right balance to keep our loved and valued exotic game species.  Each landholder has his or her own primary goals and values and that’s their right.  These values typically involve but are not limited to income, aesthetics, and personal diet.  Whatever the goal, I promise you there is a management plan to suit it and plenty of resources to help you assess and implement them.

Exotics have been present in localized areas of the state for many years.  Axis deer are the preferred source of table fair by many Texans, and any excess in population can feed the hungry in great numbers all over the state with some of the finest free range sustainable protein that exists in the world.  If you ask me we should strive to capitalize on the positive qualities of exotic big game animals like the beloved Axis, while minimizing their negative effects.  This task is achieved by increasing the knowledge available to rangeland resource managers and private landowners alike and we can certainly handle doing that.   

Resources:   
Rangeland Issues: A Perspective for the ‘90s
McCawley, Paul F. (Society for Range Management, 1990-10-01)
Axis Deer- The Ultimate Guide
Morrow, Michael (TLA.org site, 2019)
Winter Storm Devastation 
Ferguson, West (Texas Monthly- Winter Storm Devastation, 2021-02-28)