Sika deer and are originally from Asia, but there are some wild ones that have been introduced in the Hill Country near San Antonio, Texas. I spent a few nights recording them while visiting some family in December 2019.

Elk are probably 3-4 times the size of a Sika deer, so they have the same character to their bugling, but the smaller size of the Sikas makes them sound like cute adolescent elk.

The first time I heard them, I was woken up by hellacious bugling in the middle of the night. I thought to myself, "there are definitely no elk in Texas...so what the hell is that sound". Turns out folks have imported the Sika deer to some of the big Texas ranches in the area. Lucky for me, they got loose and now you can hear them in the wild. They look like a normal deer, but have spots as adults, and are evidently one of the most vocal species of deer.