Make this my home page
|
|
|
|
|
My first time to draw a bow on a hog and it was exciting. Really gets the adrenaline pumping. Lots of fun.
|
|
|
|
| # | 1 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
| |
Axis Deer
|
| |
Artiodactyla : Family Cervidae : Cervus axix (Erxleben)
|
| |
A moderately large, spotted deer with three tines on each antler; the brow tine forms nearly a right angle with the beam and the front (or outer) tine of the terminal fork is much longer than the hind (or inner) tine; a gland-bearing cleft is present on the front of the pastern of the hind foot; upperparts yellowish brown to rufous brown, profusely dappled with white spots; abdomen, rump, throat, insides of legs and ears, and underside of tail white; dark stripe from nape to near tip of tail. Dental formula as in Cervus elaphus, but upper canines (the so-called elk teeth) usually lacking. External measurements average: (males) total length, 1.7 m; tail, 200 mm; height at shoulder, 90 cm; females smaller and usually without antlers. Weight, 30-75 kg in males; 25-45 kg in females.
Distribution in Texas. Native to India, where it is known as the "chital," the axis deer was introduced into Texas about 1932. In 1988, free-ranging herds were established in 27 counties of central and southern Texas. At this time, it also occurs as a confined animal on ranches in 67 other counties. Axis deer are the most abundant exotic ungulate in Texas.
Habits. Axis deer are inhabitants of secondary forest lands broken here and there by glades, with an understory of grasses, forbs, and tender shoots which supply adequate drinking water and shade. They tend to avoid rugged terrain. Their food consists largely of grasses at all seasons, augmented with browse. Green grasses less than 10 cm high seem to be preferred. In Texas, they graze on grasses such as paspalum, switchgrass, and little bluestem. Sedges are favorite spring foods. Browse species include live oak, hackberry, and sumac.
These animals are gregarious and usually are found in herds ranging from a few animals to 100 or more. In each herd the leader is usually an old, experienced doe. Unlike our native deer, adult male axis deer normally are found living with herds of young and old animals of both sexes. Anatomically, axis deer are more closely allied to the North American elk than to our native deer. Like our elk, rutting male axis deer emit buglelike bellows, and both sexes have alarm calls or barks.
The reproductive pattern in axis deer is similar to that in domestic cattle. In the wild, bucks with hardened antlers and in rutting condition may be found throughout the year. Each buck seems to have a reproductive cycle of its own which may not be synchronized with that of other bucks in the herd. Consequently, when some bucks are coming into rut, others are going out or are in a non-breeding condition, with no antlers and with their testes quiescent. Likewise, females experience estrous cycles throughout the year with each cycle lasting about 3 weeks. Gravid females may be found throughout the year, but the major breeding season lasts from mid-May through August with a June-July peak in activity. The bucks make no attempt to collect or retain harems of does, but instead they seek out and service the does in each herd as they become receptive.
Normally, only one fawn is produced per pregnancy after a gestation period of 210-238 days. Reflecting the summer peak in rutting activity, nearly 80% of Texas fawns are born in early January to mid-April, although fawns may arrive in all seasons. Following parturition, females again mate during the subsequent breeding period, so that adult females tend to produce one fawn each year. Twins are rare.
Fawns begin eating green forage by 5˝ weeks of age, but weaning is delayed until 4-6 months. Permanent dentition is acquired when 2˝-3 years of age and adult size is reached at 6 years for females and 4-5 years for males. Possibly, does may breed in the breeding season following birth, but most do not breed until the following season, when 14-17 months of age. Lifespan is 9-13 years, although zoo animals may reach 18-22 years of age.
* nonnative species
|
| |
|
| |
Sika Deer
|
| |
Order Artiodactyla : Family Cervidae : Cervus nippon Temminck
|
| |
A small to medium sized deer that, due to extensive hybridization in Texas, is highly variable in size and coloration. In general, sika are all "compact" in form; appear "dainty-legged"; and have a short, trim, wedge-shaped head. Males carry antlers that average 28-48 cm in length, although exceptional racks may be up to 74 cm in length. Sika antlers have 3-4 points branching from a main beam; there is no palmate growth as in the fallow deer. Females have a pair of black bumps on the forehead, their placement corresponding to that of the males’s antlers.
Coloration is drab brown to a deep, mahogany brown mottled with numerous white spots. The degree of spotting is highly variable, however, and in some individuals spotting may be absent. The head, as well as the hair tuft over each metatarsal gland, tends to be lighter than the body. A distinctive, white rump patch is evident, especially when the animal is alerted.
Texas sika range in size from 76-89 cm shoulder height and 45-80 kg for the smaller Japanese and Formosan varieties to 89-109 cm shoulder height and 68-109 kg for the larger Dybowski’s variety. Female Dybowski’s sika stand about 81 cm in height and weigh 45-50 kg.
Distribution in Texas. Formerly, sika were native from southern Siberia and the adjacent Japanese island of Hokkaido south, along both the mainland and islands, to southeastern China and Formosa. Sika have rapidly disappeared from much of their range due to habitat loss. Sika have been introduced in 77 counties of central and southern Texas, with free-ranging populations known from 12 of these counties. In 1988, the total statewide population was estimated to be 11,879.
Habits. Sika are woodland deer characteristic of broad-leaved and mixed forests where snowfall does not exceed 10-20 cm and snow-free sites are also available. Large forest tracts with dense understory and occasional clearings are ideal; the patchwork of brush cover and open grassland found in the Edwards Plateau and South Texas regions are well-suited to these deer.
Sika feed on grasses, leaves, twigs, and tender shoots of woody plants depending on seasonal availability. In Texas, the spring preference is for grasses, although browse may also be consumed regularly, and browse use increases after the flush of spring growth has passed. The most important food for sika in Texas is live oak, with hackberry, wild plum, mustang grape, Texas sotol, and greenbriar also serving as important browse species. Favored grasses include Texas wintergrass, fall witchgrass, and meadow dropseed. Forb use generally increases in summer, and is lowest in winter.
Sika males are territorial and keep harems of females during the rut, which peaks from early September through October but may last well into the winter months. Territory size varies with type of habitat and size of the buck; strong, prime bucks may hold up to 2 ha. Territories are marked with a series of shallow pits, called "scrapes," into which the males urinate and from which emanates a strong, musky odor. Fights between rival males are sometimes fierce, long, and may even be fatal.
The time of fawning is primarily May through August. After a 7˝ - 8 month gestation period a single fawn is born; twins are rare. Zoo longevity records typically range from 15-18 years, although an exceptionally long lifespan of 25 years, 5 months is known for one animal.
* nonnative species
|
| |
|
| |
Fallow Deer
|
| |
Order Artiodactyla : Family Cervidae : Cervus dama Linnaeus
|
| |
A medium sized, "rangy" deer; adult males with large palmate antlers. Bucks develop "spike" antlers beginning in their first year and until 3-4 years old, grow and cast only antlers comprised of beams and simple points. At 3-4 years of age males may develop antlers with broad, palmate areas that measure 8-25 cm in width; total length of antlers is up to 39 cm.
Coloration is highly variable, but four color forms predominate: 1) common — rust color with white rump patch and belly, white spots on back and sides merging into a white line along the lower side and near the rump on the haunches; a black line runs down the back and often connects with the black upper surface of the tail; in winter, spots become indistinct; 2) menil — contrasts with common color form in that ground coloration is tan rather than rust and dorsal lines are brown rather than black; white spotting remains distinct in winter coat; 3) white — coloration is white, with dark eyes; not true albinism; and 4) black — very dark (but not truly black); spotting barely visible; in winter appears as dull brown. In Texas, black, white, and menil color forms predominate.
Fallow deer stand 91-97 cm at the shoulder and appear thin. Males weigh 79-102 kg but may lose 9-23 kg during rut. Females weigh 36-41 kg.
Distribution in Texas. Native to the Mediterranean region of Europe and Asia Minor, fallow deer are the most widely kept of the world’s deer and have been introduced to all inhabited continents. This deer has been introduced to 93 Texas counties, primarily in the Edwards Plateau region. In 1988, the Texas population was estimated to be 14,163, both free-ranging and confined animals combined.
Habits. Fallow deer do much of their feeding in open, grassy areas but require tree cover and undergrowth for shelter and winter food. Deciduous or mixed woodlands on gently rolling terrain are best, but conifer forests may be suitable in some places. The Edwards Plateau region, with its mosaic of oak mottes, juniper brushland, and grassy areas is well-suited for fallow deer.
Food availability appears to determine whether fallow deer in an area are predominantly grazers or browsers. On the Kerr Wildlife Management Area (Kerr County), fallow deer ate 54% browse, 30% grass, 12% forbs, and 5% other, although these figures varied as the degree of competition with domestic livestock and white-tailed deer varied. Live oak, shin oak, hackberry, and Spanish oak were the dominant browse species taken while Texas wintergrass, fall witchgrass, and common curlymesquite were the predominant grasses eaten. Increased competition for browse with white-tailed deer caused fallow deer to increase their dependence on grasses, while increased livestock competition for grasses led fallow to increase their use of browse.
Rutting may begin in mid-September and continue into November but peak breeding activity takes place in October. During rut, bucks mark off and defend a small area, known as a "stand," from which other rutting males are excluded; females and young remain within the male territories and as each doe comes into heat, she is followed until mating is accomplished. After the rut, males gradually cease defending their territories and form "bachelor groups," while females and young remain segregated from males and in their own groups.
The gestation period is approximately 71/2 months, with most fawning occurring from late May through June. Generally, only a single fawn is born, although twins are not uncommon.
Females reach sexual maturity at 16 months and can bear their first fawns by 2 years of age. Bucks mature sexually at 14 months but rarely compete successfully in rutting until several years later. Bucks attain physical maturity at 6 years of age. Lifespan is about 11-15 years, with a maximum record of 25 years.
|
| |
|
| |
Feral Hog
|
| |
Order Artiodactyla : Family Suidae : Sus scrofa Linnaeus
|
| |
Feral pigs in Texas are descended from introductions of European wild hogs for sporting purposes, and from escaped domestic swine that have established feral populations. European wild hogs have several distinguishing characteristics that set them apart from domestic or feral hogs. Among these are brown to blackish brown color, with grizzled guard hairs, a mane of hair (8-16 cm long) running dorsally from the neck to the rump, a straight heavily tufted tail, and ears covered with hair. Characteristics of feral hogs are varied, depending upon the breed of the ancestral stock. European wild hogs and feral hogs interbreed readily, with traits of European wild hogs apparently being dominant.
Distribution in Texas. Feral pigs have established sizeable, free-ranging populations in various places on the Rio Grande and Coastal Plains, as well as the wooded country of eastern Texas.
Habits. Good feral hog habitat in timbered areas consists of diverse forests with some openings. The presence of a good litter layer to support soil invertebrates and/or the presence of ground vegetation affording green forage, roots, and tubers is desirable. Hogs are also fond of marsh and grass-sedge flats in coastal areas, particularly if wild grapes are common. During hot summer months, "wallows," or depressions dug in the mud by feral hogs, are much in evidence near marshes or standing water, such as along roadside ditches.
On the Texas coast, feral pigs eat a variety of items, including fruits, roots, mushrooms, and invertebrates, depending on the season. The major foods in spring are herbage, roots, invertebrates, and vertebrates. Fruit, invertebrates, and herbage are most common in fall and winter diets. Herbage eaten by feral pigs includes water hyssop, pennywort, frog fruit, spadeleaf, onion, and various grasses while important roots used for food include bulrush, cattail, flatsedges, and spikesedges. Fruits and seeds such as grapes, acorns, and cultivated sorghum are important, and animal matter ingested by feral pigs includes earthworms, marsh fly larvae, leopard frogs, snakes, and rodents.
Feral pigs can have detectable influences on wildlife and plant communities as well as domestic crops and livestock. Extensive disturbance of vegetation and soil occurs as a result of their rooting habits. The disturbed area may cause a shift in plant succession on the immediate site. Feral pigs also compete, to some degree, with several species of wildlife for certain foods, particularly mast.
Feral pigs generally breed year round; litters range from one to seven, averaging two per sow. An average of one to three suckling pigs usually accompanies brood sows. The heat period is only about 48 hours in duration and the average gestation period is 115 days.
|
| |
Corsican
|
| |
|
| |
This will be added when I can find an accurate discription of this animal.
|
| |
|
| |
Mouflon
|
| |
Also Known By: muflone (Italian), Corsican mouflon, European mouflon, musimon, musmon, Sardinian mouflon
|
| |
The mouflon (Ovis musimon) is thought to be one of the two ancestors for all modern sheep breeds. It is red-brown with a dark back-stripe, light colored saddle patch and underparts. The males are horned and the females are horned or polled. It is now rare but has been successfully introduced into central Europe, including Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, Slovak Republics, and Romania
|
| |
|
| |
Texas Dall
|
| |
Texas Dall Sheep have horns similar to a ram's. They are light in color (white, blond). Their average weight is 150 pounds. (female 50) They graze on short grass, and usually don't graze when it's very hot.
|
| |
|
| |
Ibex
|
| |
Capra ibex nubiana
|
| |
Adults average 27 to 43 inches high at the shoulder and weigh approximately 200 pounds. The male's horns can grow up to 56 inches in length forming a semicircle over its back, whereas the female of this species has shorter horns that only grow up to 15 inches in length. They have very large ears, and older males have a long beard.
Both the male and female have very strong hind legs often used for defense. If they feel as if they are in danger, then they will rise up on their hind legs and point their horns towards their predator.
|
| |
|
| |
Russion Hog
|
| |
The wild boar is native to both Europe and Asia. For purposes of sport hunting, they have been introduced in North, Central, and South America. The wild boar is a challenge to hunt. Though boars have poor eyesight, they possess keen senses of smelling and hearing. A muscular animal, boar rely on their speed as well as their wits to evade hunters.
The sharp tusks of the wild boar are used to search out food, uprooting everything from tubers and roots to small animals and snakes. These powerful tusks, which literally bulldoze through an area of ground, are also formidable weapons, sometimes reaching nine inches in length.
|
| |
|
| |
Whitetail Deer
|
| |
Odocoileus virginianus
|
| |
Whitetail dear are the most widespread deer in the world. Scientists recognize 30 whitetail subspecies in North and Central America, and another eight races in South America. North America's whitetail population is estimated at 20-25 million animals. The whitetail is by far the most popular game in the U.S., chased by some 11 million hunters each fall.
Deer usually inhabit a relatively small home range, until harsh weather conditions force them to temporarily move elsewhere. Thus, deer in northern states have larger home ranges, since the winters are often long and brutal. Some northern deer travel 50 miles or more to suitable winter ranger. Weather is not the only factor that impacts on a herd's home range. For example, most whitetails in Colorado or Kansas have larger home ranges than deer in Virginia or Alabama. Out West, the habitat is more sprawling and open and the doe densities are not as high as in the Southeastern states. Thus, western deer are forced to move longer distances to feed, bed and breed.
|
| |
|
| |
Blackbuck
|
| |
Antilope cervicapra
|
| |
Blackbuck are found in semidesert plains and open forest throughout India. Males are dark brown above and white below, with white rings around the eyes; they stand about 32 in. (81 cm) at the shoulder and weigh about 90 lb (41 kg). Their heavily ridged, corkscrew-shaped horns are about 18 in. (45 cm) long. The smaller, hornless females are fawn-colored above and white below. Blackbucks graze in herds of 10 to 100 individuals and, unlike most antelopes, graze mostly by day, even in intense heat. They are extremely swift animals; a cheetah can run down a blackbuck, but only if it overtakes it in the first few hundred yards. Although they have been hunted intensively by man, sometimes with the aid of cheetahs, blackbucks have survived in large numbers.
* nonnative species
|
|
|
