Axis Deer - South America | Online Record Book Preview

Axis axis

Axis (Sp), Axishirsch (G), Cerf axis, Chital (F). Also called spotted deer, or chital (India).

DESCRIPTION (male) Shoulder height 35-36 inches (89-91 cm). Weight 180-200 pounds (82-91 kg), sometimes more. The female is smaller.

A beautiful, medium-sized deer, slender and graceful. The coat is a bright reddish-fawn covered with permanent white spots, and has a dark dorsal stripe. The spots on the lower flanks are arranged in longitudinal rows. Underparts, underside of tail, lower legs and throat are white. The face is buff with a darker brown muzzle. The antlers are long and beautifully lyre-shaped, and typically have three points to a side--two tines plus the tip of the main beam. A very strong brow tine grows close to the burr and a comparatively weak inner top tine grows on the inside of the beam to form a forward-facing terminal fork. Occasional antlers will have additional tines, which are usually small and located near the junction of the brow tine and the main beam. Such additional tines are always non-typical.

DISTRIBUTION Free-ranging in a number of areas in Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay. Also on private properties in Argentina and Uruguay.

REMARKS Native to India and Sri Lanka. Introduced from India to private land in La Pampa province in south-central Argentina in 1906. Subsequently introduced elsewhere in Argentina, where good numbers are now found in Buenos Aires, Santa Fé, Neuquén, and Rio Negro provinces. Introduced on private land near the mouth of the San Juan River in southwestern Uruguay in the 1930s. They are now established there in the wild, and also along the Negro River to the north. Also in Brazil, where free-ranging populations are found in several places.