Premier Ranch Insights

Hunting ranches in Texas have allowed many US residents to hunt for exotic animals, mainly native African animals, without traveling to another continent to do it. The interest level has gradually increased over the past several years. They adapt well with the traditional whitetail herds as long as there is enough land to accommodate several different species of animal. The Premier Ranch has nearly 2000 acres and a diverse ecosystem to support our vast and growing animal population.

What is an exotic animal?

"Exotic" refers roughly to non-native animals that are found on ranches or in locations that are nonindigenous to that particular animal. Most of the common species of exotic mammal currently found on Texas ranches fall under one of the following three major scientific families:   Cervidae (deer), Bovidae (cattle and antelope), and Equidae (horses and zebras). 

The first release of exotics into Texas occurred around 1930 when a group of nilgai antelope were released on the King Ranch in South Texas. According to a state survey conducted by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department in 1988, there were nearly 165,000 exotic animals reported, and that number has only grown from there. 90,000 being confined behind fences, and 70,000+ being free-ranging exotics (able to move from one ranch to another). 67 different exotic species were studied, and it showed that over 68% of the confined exotic ranch animals were found in the Texas Hill Country, while 51% of the free-range exotics were found in South Texas.

What kind of exotic animals can you hunt in Texas?

There’s a long list of exotic animals available to hunt in Texas, but we’ll focus on the most abundant from the Texas Parks & Wildlife 1988 survey, which holds pretty true to this day.

1. The axis deer with, 39,040 animals reported, was the most numerous species found during the 1988 survey.  The species was reported confined on 293 ranches in 92 counties and free-ranging only in an additional 2 counties.

2. The second most numerous species encountered on the survey, 36,756 animals, was the nilgai antelope.  The majority of the nilgai population occurs semi-free-ranging on large ranches in Kenedy and Willacy Counties in South Texas.  The species was found confined on only 36 ranches in 25 counties.

3. Blackbuck antelope, with 21,232 animals reported, ranked third on the survey and was found confined on more ranches, 326 ranches in 86 counties, than any other species.  The species accounted for only 0.4% of the estimated total for free-ranging animals of all species statewide.

4. Aoudad sheep, with 20,402 animals counted in 1988, ranked fourth and was reported confined on 159 ranches in 65 counties and free-ranging only in an additional 8 counties.  The population estimate does not include the State-regulated aoudads free-ranging in Palo Duro Canyon area.

5. The fifth most numerous species encountered in 1988 was the fallow deer, with 14,163 animals reported confined on 268 ranches in 92 counties and free-ranging only in 1 additional county.

6. The 1988 population estimate for sika deer, 11,879 animals, ranked sixth and included animals confined on 207 ranches in 77 counties.

You can certainly find Texas ibex, kudu, red deer, elk, buffalo, and many others, but the above tend to be the most abundant and popular among Texas exotic ranchers and hunters.

Do exotics have a negative impact on native wildlife?

Several concerns have been expressed by  wildlife and animal health professionals since the early days of exotic introductions.  The potential for animals imported directly from foreign lands to harbor and spread harmful diseases and parasites that our native wildlife and domestic livestock have not previously been exposed to or have no natural immunity to has always been a major concern of the animal health industry.  To date, though, there is no evidence of any large scale disease outbreak in Texas directly attributed to the common exotic species.

Another problem that can occur when exotic animals are introduced into an area is the competition with native and domestic animals for the limited amount of food and cover available.  If rangeland is already at the point of saturation with native wildlife and domestic livestock, any introduction of additional animals, with similar diets or cover requirements, will lead to increased habitat depletion and a corresponding decline in animal populations that are less able to adapt to the stressful conditions.  The land manager must be aware that there is only so much native food available on any given acreage and the number of animals expected to survive on the land must be properly balanced with the food supply and existing range conditions.

During the 1960s and 70s the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department conducted several research projects at the Kerr Wildlife Management Area, located in Kerr County, to determine food habits of exotics and to what extent the non-native animals compete with our native white-tailed deer.  The food habits studies revealed that the axis deer, sika deer, fallow deer, blackbuck antelope, and aoudad sheep prefer green, succulent forbs and browse when available - classes of plants that are also the preferred foods of the whitetail.  The studies also showed that the exotic species had the ability to shift their diets to grasses when the preferred forbs and browse became unavailable - an important survival trait that the native whitetails do not share.

The dietary preference for forbs and browse exhibited by the more common exotic species also places them in direct competition with domestic goats and, to a lesser extent, with sheep and cattle.  The studies on competition revealed that axis deer, sika deer, and blackbuck antelope could out-compete whitetails when confined together in high-fenced plots with only native vegetation to survive on and with no harvest or removal of “surplus” animals.

Which exotic species does Premier Ranch feature?

1. Axis Deer - Native to India and Ceylon, the axis deer, chital, or spotted deer is generally rufous fawn in color, with white spots covering both their summer and winter coats. Their throat, stomach, and under-tail areas are white and a dark dorsal stripe runs from the back of the head to the tip of the tail. An axis male will stand about 36 inches high at the shoulder and weigh up to 200 pounds. The antlers of the adult male are reddish brown in color and the beam, which curves backwards and outwards in a lyre-shaped formation, is usually about 30 to 36 inches long. There are normally 3 tines on each side.

2. Blackbuck antelope - Native to Pakistan and India, the blackbuck is one of the few antelopes whose coloration differs between male and female.  The male is rich dark brown above, on the sides and on the outside of the legs, whereas the doe is yellowish fawn on the head and back.  In both sexes the underparts, inside of the legs, and an area encircling the eyes are white.  The males gradually become darker to almost black with age.  The build is graceful and slender with the average male standing about 32 inches high at the shoulder and weighing around 80 pounds.  The horns, borne only by the males, are 18 to 28 inches long, ringed at the base, and twisted spirally up to 5 turns.  The narrow muzzle is sheep-like, the tail is short, and the hooves are delicate and sharply pointed.

3. Fallow Deer -  The fallow deer, native to the Mediterranean countries of Europe and North Africa, occurs in 3 distinct color phases here in Texas.  One phase is an almost melanistic or near black color pattern with a white rump patch.  The second phase is a white or cream colored animal which looks whiter during the winter than in its summer coat.  The white fallow is the most common color phase in Texas.  The third color phase is a rich fawn with white spots in summer and a uniform grayish brown, with little or no spotting, in winter.  The adult male fallow deer stands between 32 and 48 inches high at the shoulder and weighs up to 200 pounds.  Fallow deer antlers are broadly palmated with several small tines and 1 large tine arising from the palm.  A good set of antlers will measure at least 28 inches in length with an inside span of 24 inches or more.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours from the Premier Ranch!

Texas Sporting Journal came out for a visit to check out the ranch. You can view the original article here

Beyond a stone archway off U.S. Highway 87 in Mason County lies testament to German fortitude and American opportunity.

Three natural springs within the Premier Ranch’s sprawling landscape have always kept the hills alive with deer, quail and turkey. Perhaps abundant wildlife was part of what convinced Fritz and Sophie Kothmann in 1875 to begin building a two-story plantation-style brownstone among those hills.

The Kothmanns had established the ranch three years earlier, during turbulent times in the nearby German enclave of Loyal Valley. The couple was raising seven children in an atmosphere of lawlessness, Indian unrest, cattle thievery and hostility from locals toward German immigrants. Ultimately, the latter escalated into a deadly feud known as the Hoo Doo Wars centered in Mason County.

But Fritz had been prepared for hardship. Years earlier his parents uprooted 10-year-old Fritz and his siblings from Hanover, Germany with hopes of establishing roots in Texas. The intrepid Kothmanns landed in Indianola in 1845, but the ill-fated port was not their final destination.

The pioneer family went in search of fellow German expatriates, first in New Braunfels and, then Fredericksburg. Fritz married in 1856 and began a family the following year. Violence in the region was at or near its peak when construction began on the big house that now serves as headquarters for the Premier Ranch’s hunting and cattle operations.

Beside the handsome home today sits a small stone structure with gun ports carved into its thick walls. What these days is a smokehouse, once served as shelter for the young Kothmann family during construction of the big house. Fritz worked in the freighting business, served as Mason County’s first sheriff and learned the beef industry during many cattle drives. His youngest son, Elgin Otto Kothmann, made the best of the family’s entrepreneurial heritage by establishing one of the region’s premier Hereford cattle operations on the homestead. Historical accounts suggest the ranch’s premier status is how its name came to be.

Both father and son are buried below the big house, along with other relatives, inside an iron filigree fence. And beyond the Kothmann cemetery is the ranch’s hunting lodge and Texas chic guest quarters, which also intersect with an unexpected piece of Texas history. One of the state’s most eccentric and charismatic moguls, the mysterious Howard Hughes, leased part of the property during the 1930s and built the first hunting lodge there. On one of the original walls hangs a framed document verifying the Hughes-Kothmann lease agreement. The lodge has since been expanded to seven bedrooms.

Hunters and guests mostly likely will be greeted by one of the ranch’s most colorful ambassadors, a lanky tall cowboy named Bob Mimms, sporting a bushy handlebar mustache, a floppy Stetson with charcoal stains and boots outside his jeans. Or perhaps his pleasant wife, JoAnn, will be the first to offer up a steaming cup of camp coffee from a pot hanging over a smoldering oak fire.