Axis porcinus
Silhouette: Steven Traver · PhyloPic
In 3 days >90%
The Indian hog deer (Axis porcinus), or Indochinese hog deer, is a small cervid native to the region of the Indian subcontinent and Indo-Gangetic Plain. Introduced populations are established in Australia, as well as the United States and Sri Lanka.
Its name derives from the hog-like manner in which it runs through forests (with its head hung low), to ease ducking under obstacles instead of leaping over them, like most other deer. Cervus porcinus was the scientific name used by Eberhard August Wilhelm von Zimmermann in 1777 and 1780, based on an earlier description of Indian hog deer brought to England from India.
It was placed in the genus Axis by William Jardine in 1835 and by Brian Houghton Hodgson in 1847. In 2004, it was proposed to be placed in the genus Hyelaphus. The proposal has not been accepted, with most authors keeping it under Axis. A subspecies, A. p. annamiticus, was once considered its own species, but is now generally considered the same species as A. porcinus.
A mature hog deer stag stands about 70 centimetres (28 in) at the shoulder, and weighs approximately 50 kilograms (110 lb); hinds are much smaller, standing about 61 centimetres... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kaziranga National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 2 | Royal Bardia National Park | 🇳🇵 Nepal | |
| 3 | Chitwan National Park | 🇳🇵 Nepal | |
| 4 | Manas National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 5 | Wilsons Promontory National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 6 | Jim Corbett National Park | 🇮🇳 India |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pairi Daiza | 🇧🇪 Belgium | |
| 2 | ZooParc de Beauval | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 3 | Ostrava Zoo | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 4 | Beijing Wildlife Park | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 5 | Assam State Zoo cum Botanical Garden | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 6 | Nehru Zoological Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 7 | Nakhon Ratchasima Zoo | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 8 | Chiang Mai Night Safari | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 9 | Shanghai Zoo | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 10 | Safari World | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 11 | La Torbiera | 🇮🇹 Italy | |
| 12 | Mysore Zoo | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 13 | Burgers' Ocean | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | |
| 14 | Bannerghatta Zoo | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 15 | National Zoo of Malaysia | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 16 | Saigon Zoo and Botanical Gardens | 🇻🇳 Vietnam | |
| 17 | Sukhothai Airport Zoo | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 18 | Johor Zoo | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 19 | Thrissur Zoo | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 20 | Nawab Wajid Ali Shah Prani Udyan | 🇮🇳 India |
Very likely
About 90% of wildlife watchers report a Hog Deer sighting in Kaziranga National Park on a given day, based on 194 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 2nd most-seen of the 16 mammals we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January–February, April and October–November
In those months about 90% of wildlife watchers report a Hog Deer in Kaziranga National Park on a given day, against about 30% in May, the lowest month. Those are among Kaziranga National Park's driest months, with about 95 mm of rain a month against 520 mm in June. June to September have too few records to rate.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Hog Deer sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
Yes
Of the 6 parks where we can rate Hog Deer sightings, Kaziranga National Park has the highest daily chance: about 90%. Next come Royal Bardia National Park (Nepal, about 50%) and Chitwan National Park (Nepal, about 50%). All parks ranked.
Same family: Cervidae
The closest relatives of the Hog Deer that you can see in Kaziranga National Park (family Cervidae, Deer) are Barasingha (about 80%), Sambar (about 50%) and Indian Muntjac (about 40%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Hog Deer is recorded against all the mammals logged in Kaziranga National Park (194 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
