The Trail Less Traveled: On the trail of the exotic axis, part I

Published 8:00 pm Tuesday, June 26, 2018

I have been tracking a deer for most of my life and I may be getting close. Not just any deer you understand, not the local whitetails with big gnarly antlers that so many of my buddies lust after.

At a tender age I came upon a book with the cover depicting a ferocious Bengal tiger. Of course I was captivated by it and soon I was reading about a fascinating man in India by the name of Jim Corbett. Corbett was born and raised in India to a large English family and at a very early age was exploring the jungles around his home; he became an avid hunter, tracker and wildlife expert. Humility will not allow me to mention any comparisons I may have drawn as a kid between myself and Corbett, but you are welcome to make your own.

Jim Corbett went on to become a colonel in the English army and when his fame as a tracker and hunter began to spread, he was called upon to deal with man-eating tigers by the government. Now, if you have never read about any of this we are not talking about rare, isolated incidents. Although the numbers may vary a little, it is thought that the man-eating tigers and leopards that Corbett hunted down killed at least 1,200 men, women and children. It was a real problem and Corbett was the real deal, he hunted almost exclusively alone and spent countless nights in the company of man-eating cats and their tender mercies.

I am sure we are way past the point of you wondering what any of this might have to do with yours truly tracking some kind of deer. Well, here it is. Jim Corbett made his stories fascinating (at least to me) by describing every aspect of the jungle he hunted in, including all the animals. Many times he talked about a deer native to India — the deer was one of the prey animals to tigers and leopards — and often he would be made aware of a tiger’s presence by the alarm calls of this deer.

The deer we are talking about is the axis or cheetal deer (also spelled chital) which are native to the Indian subcontinent but have been transplanted to many other locales. Axis deer are beautiful animals and, to me at least, they are the epitome of exotic. Axis deer are not as large as some of our native whitetails, a big male may go 160 pounds and reach 36 inches at the shoulder, and the females are much smaller. Corbett, like most Europeans, called the male axis stags, and the females hinds. In areas of the United States where the axis deer is now found, I am not sure what they are called, but I am about to find out.

The axis deer is probably best known for its beautiful spotted coat, very similar to the spotted fawns of our native whitetails. The back and sides of an axis deer are golden or reddish brown covered with white spots. The antlers on the males (bucks?) are somewhat like elk in that they sweep upwards and back, not forward as on a whitetail deer. The antlers are usually three-pronged with forward brow tines and two other points pointing to the rear. A big axis antler may reach three feet in length. These deer (to me) are striking, beautiful and symbolize an exotic part of the world so different from where we live. Oh yes, one more thing, everyone I have ever talked to about hunting axis deer has said they are the best eating deer to be found, and that includes elk.

Axis deer were introduced to the Hawaiian Islands in the 1860s and are now found in abundance there, many hunters now travel to Hawaii to hunt axis. These deer were introduced to Texas in 1932 and by the late 1980s were found in at least 27 counties. Many hunting ranches in Texas have axis deer and they are a popular animal that hunters want to add to their list.

So why am I going on about the axis deer? So glad you asked. This week, Lord willing and the creek don’t rise, I will be in the Texas Hill Country hunting the fabled axis deer. I make no assumptions, I may return to you with big antlers, spotted trophies and full of stories of about these captivating deer. But hunting is hunting and we are never guaranteed success, and that is way it should be.

I will be hunting with Southern Buck Outfitters, a guide service specializing in trophy whitetails, axis deer and other exotics; they are located near Boerne, Texas. Look them up on Facebook. I hope to have big stories to tell about feral hogs, axis deer and a bunch of new guns and gear!

Talk to you next week, wish me luck and I hope I don’t let my old mentor Col. Corbett down. I have been tracking this deer for a long time.

“The Trail Less Traveled” is written by Larry Case, who lives in Fayette County, W.Va. He has been a devoted outdoorsman all of his life and is a contributing columnist for the Daily Citizen-News. You can write to him at larryocase@gmail.com; follow him on Twitter, @LarryCase13; or visit his website, www.gunsandcornbread.com.