It was about 7 years ago I purchased a small piece of land in the South Central part of Florida with the intention of introducing my 2 sons to WT deer hunting. It is an interesting piece of land in that it backs up to a creek that feeds into a much bigger river. A creek bed connected to the creek at the back of the property and runs from the back all the way up to the front. I believe it was put there to help when we have heavy rains. I have had some additional trails created right along the creek bed and throughout other area of the property to give us more access. The first thing we planted was rye grass and lots of it. We planted it over all the trails and within certain areas of the creek bed. I recall looking at pictures from one of the trail cameras I had put up, I remember seeing what I initially thought were fawns and thinking they were kind of big to still have their spots. Later I realized I had herds of Axis deer visiting the property on a regular basis.

I am trying to learn as much as I can about Axis deer. I was doing some research recently read that the population of wild Axis deer in TX is somewhere around 6000. With regard to Axis deer in FL there is nothing mentioned anywhere. I even pulled up all the newspapers in the state of FL, went to the archives and searched AXIS DEER. The only articles had to do with Axis in HI, India & Sri Lanka. I also found out there are a number of roads in FL named Axis Deer Lane.

Recently I planted a combination of peas, wheat and a couple types of clover in 2 different areas . Within a couple weeks it had come up real nice and high. Shortly thereafter I noticed on the trail cameras the axis deer were around again. Within a week they had mowed all the peas and wheat down to where you almost couldn't tell where you planted it. I just recently planted more of the same but also planted alfalfa grass on an area by itself. I was told that the axis deer prefer alfalfa to other grasses. I am trying to learn as I go here and would love to hear any ideas or suggestions. I started a mineral site on the property about 4 years ago. Ever since doing that we now get pictures of the WT Bucks that are in the area. I know Axis deer are considered invasive and most likely aren't good for the WT population. But a few years ago I shot a full grown doe. I have never had deer or any other red meat that actually looked like it was going to be tough, no marbling or sign of fat anywhere, but then put a piece in your mouth and forget about it. As tender and flavorful as some of the best beef I have eaten.
I don't know how many of the axis are out here. I have heard a story about how they may have gotten here. Based on that story there was an event back in 2004 which led to the current Axis population in this area. From what I have read the population normally grows by 20-30% per year. I would love to know if that is accurate. I did some number crunching myself in an attempt to arrive at a number that may be accurate. I did have to make some initial assumptions. The first assumption being how many were there to start with? I've read and been told that axis travel in herds. For my calculation I used an initial number of 15 deer. I used an annual growth rate of 25% and extrapolated out from 2004 to present day and came up with @ 550 deer. Given all the people I have talked to in FL about axis deer, it seems that few if any are aware of this. I'd like to keep it that way at least until the herd gets much larger.

No pictures?

There are way more than 6000 wild axis in Texas. Also not sure how posting something on the internet will keep others from finding out about it.....

I am thinking a TFF troll...

I have seen a ton of Axis while in Sri Lanka, after seeing the terrain you can see how they thrive in The us South from both arid to marsh environments. Their main predators are leopards and they even have saltwater crocs over there. Quite similar coastal environment to that of South Texas where I was in Yala National Park.

sure seems off the wall ... ... but

I’m from Pasco County Florida Dade city to be exact are you close to there?

From Pasco County to Killeen - make sense.

This

I am not sure what to make of the OP. I lived in FL for nearly 5 years when I was on active duty and it was pretty common knowledge that there are a lot of axis deer in FL and quite a bit of hunting for them. FL also has free ranging Sambar on a couple of offshore islands that they issue special permits for. So having axis on a place in FL isn't too unusual.

No Axis deer population grows by 20%+ every year, or they'd be basically eating the Texas Hill Country into a desert. Axis do reproduce well in this area and the species is very well established in the Texas Hill Country, to the point where they exert pressure on native WT deer populations in some areas and compete for food. If you watch Axis bucks come into a feeder where whitetail are hanging around, they can sometimes be aggressive and push other species out. Other times, they seem to coexist, although axis gather in herds and that alone can be intimidating for a handful of WT deer (of either sex).

Is this a bot of some sort?

Axis tenderloins marinating in a can of Guns&Oil beer and Bull S#$% rub as we speak. But I digress.