Did you know axis deer were introduced to Texas in the early 1930s and are native to South Asia which includes India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka? They were initially introduced to containment areas for food and hunting, but they eventually escaped and established in Texas.
They are considered the most abundant exotic ungulate in Texas with an estimated 15,000 free-living individuals.
It is believed, there are more axis deer in Texas than anywhere else in the world.
They typically live 9 to 13 years but have lived to 20 years in captivity.
Bucks with antlers can be found year around.
Mating can occur year around, but peak rut occurs June and July.
80% of fawns are born between January and May.
Axis deer negatively impact white-tailed deer because they eat forbs and other high-quality forages that white-tailed deer rely on. However, axis deer can subsist on grasses when the high-quality stuff is gone, and white-tailed deer cannot.
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HOW TO PLANT OAK ACORNS
Along the Missouri River Valley in northeast Nebraska, there are plenty of native bur oak trees growing among the hardwood river woodlands.
Follow these steps
Here is a step-by-step guide for growing your own oak trees from acorns, gleaned from a circular by Iowa State University horticulturists:
Collect acorns. Most oak species produce an abundance of acorns at least every two or three years, while white oak, for instance, produces acorns about every four to six years. Collect the acorns in the fall as soon as you can after they hit the ground.
Identify viable acorns. You can separate the viable acorns from the damaged or unfilled acorns by placing them in water. The good ones will sink in the bucket. Discard any acorns that float because they will not germinate.
Store in a cold location. Acorns from bur, pin and red oaks will not germinate until they have gone through cold and moist conditions. This process can also be accomplished by stratification — placing the acorns in coffee cans, food storage bags or small ice cream buckets containing a moist mixture of sand and peat moss and storing in a cool location at 32-41 degrees F for 30 to 60 days for bur oak, and 30 to 45 days for red and pin oaks.
Plant acorns. Bur, pin and red oaks can be planted one-half to 1 inch deep in their forever location in the soil in the fall, or stratified seed can be planted in the spring. Acorns can also be planted in a “nursery” location, and then transplanted to their permanent location in a year or two.
Keep critters away. We all know that squirrels and other critters love acorns, so the area where you plant those oak acorns can be covered by chicken wire or hardware cloth after planting to keep the critters from digging up your seed. Remove the covering in the spring when the seed begins to germinate.