Mark Healey woke before dawn and broke camp in the Maui upcountry. Somewhere in the near distance was a herd of axis deer, widely considered to be among the most beautiful and best-eating venison on earth. They’d been feeding all night in the lower elevations and he knew that after daybreak they’d seek higher altitude to find cover.

Mark Healey is a professional big wave surfer from O‘ahu who bow hunts on land and spearfishes off the coast as a way to provide food for himself, his family and his friends. He regularly makes the trek to the mountains of Maui to hunt axis deer, an invasive species that has no natural predators and is widely considered to be among the best-eating venison on earth.