Deer found in hollow, a pit, initially (6)
I believe the answer is:
wapiti
'deer' is the definition.
(wapiti is a kind of deer)
'in hollow a pit initially' is the wordplay.
'in' indicates the answer is hidden within the clue.
'WAPITI' can be found hidden inside 'hollow a pit initially'.
'found' is the link.
(Other definitions for wapiti that I've seen before include "Deer with much-branched antlers" , "I paw it (anag) - large North American deer" , "Large N. Am. red deer" , "North American native" , "Red deer - I paw it (anag)" .)