Axis axis Erxleben 1777
Creators: name: Don E. Wilson
name: Russell A. Mittermeier
Publisher: name: Lynx Edicions
Year: 2011
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Artiodactyla
Cervidae
Axis
Axis axis

description: 13.
Chital
Axis axis
French: Cerf axis / German: Axishirsch / Spanish: Axis
Other common names: Axis Deer, Indian Spotted Deer
Taxonomy. Cervus axis Erxleben, 1777,
Banks of Ganges, Bihar (India).
The genus Axis appeared in China at the end of the Miocene. The monophyly of Axis has been questioned repeatedly but the most recent genetic analyses have confirmed it. Monotypic.
Distribution. India, S Nepal, S Bhutan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. Chital have been introduced in Europe (Croatia, Ukraine, Moldova), Armenia, the Andaman Is, New Guinea, Australia, USA (California, Texas & Hawaii), Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina.
Descriptive notes. Head—body 150-155 cm for males (adult bucks), and 140-145 cm for females (does), tail 25-30 cm, shoulder height 85-95 cm (bucks) and 70-80 cm (does); weight of adult bucks 70-85 kg (up to 110 kg) and of adult does 45-60 kg (up to 70 kg). Hooves are 4-7 cm long. Adult bucks are on average 40-60% heavier than does. Medium-sized elegant deer heavily spotted in all seasons. The coat is reddishfawn flecked with small white spots; white throat patch, whitish underparts, a dark band around the muzzle, and a dark dorsal stripe. Males carry a dark chevron over the face. Face and neck of does are paler. Long hairs at the distal end of the preorbital gland, normally folded inwards. Males have an elongated penis sheath. Preorbital, metatarsal, and rear interdigital glands are present. Adult males have lyre-shaped, long, three-tined antlers, with a brow tine and an inward-oriented trez tine. Antlers are on average 65-75 cm long, with records of 95-110 cm. Pedicles begin to grow at about twelve months of age and grow into spikes. Yearling bucks cast their antlers at 20-22 months of age. Antler cycles lack seasonality. In southern India adult bucks attain peak hard antlers in May-June, yearlings and subadults later.
Habitat. Chital are typical of the grassland-forest ecotone. They prefer moist and dry forest areas adjoining grassland or scrubland; they are also present in swampy meadows close to forests, riparian forests, and teak plantations. They tend to avoid dense forests and mountains.
Food and Feeding. Chital are flexible intermediate feeders with a tendency to graze. Up to 190 plant species are recorded as consumed at the Indian subcontinental scale. They eat grasses, but also forbs, leaves, flowers, and fruits. Chital tend to use more wooded habitat during the cool-dry season and early summer (November-May), where they find browse and fruit, and use more open grassland with the monsoon rains and the flush of plant growth. In Sundarbans they are known to feed also on crabs.
Breeding. Females reach puberty at 10-14 months. They are polyestrous, with an estrous cycle of 18-19 days. Males are physiologically mature at 14-16 months. Mating may occur throughout the year, with higher activity from March to July. After a pregnancy of 231-235 days, does give birth to a single fawn weighing 3-4 kg. Weaning occurs at 5—6 months of age. Maximum longevity in captivity is 21 years of age. Tigers (Panthera tigris), Leopards (P. pardus), and Dholes (Cuon alpinus) are the major predators.
Activity patterns. Active mainly around dawn and dusk, with two major resting periods, one before dawn and the other at midday.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. Males have home ranges of about 200-350 ha, females of about 150-250 ha. It is a social species. The basic social unit is the family group consisting of the mother, the fawn, and the offspring of the previous year. Two or three families form fluid, temporary herds of 6-12 animals, often accompanied by subadult males and visited by adult bucks. Aggregations of more than 150-200 individuals are known in abundant pastures during rainy season or near water reservoirs in summer.
Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List for its relatively wide range and the network of protected areas. Due to overhunting and habitat loss Chital declined dramatically up to 1970; then they became more stable and sometimes locally abundant. The general demographic trend is unknown, but in some areas is still decreasing. In Bangladesh they are restricted to the Sundarbans.
Bibliography. Ables (1974), Azad et al. (2005), Barrette (1985, 1991), Chapple et al. (1993), Duckworth et al. (2008), Geist (1998), Gilbert et al. (2006), Mishra & Wemmer (1987), Miura (1981), Moe & Wegge (1997), Ouithavon et al. (2009), Raman (1997, 1998), Sankar & Acharya (2004a), Schaller (1967).
description: Published as part of Don E. Wilson & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2011, Cervidae, pp. 350-443 in Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 2 Hoofed Mammals, Barcelona :Lynx Edicions on page 415, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6514377