I have two trees in my yard. As was said above, it takes a few years for the trees to mature. The deer, coon and possum all go for the fruits; and some of them leave droppings under the tree. This year I had a bunch of seedlings come up. I had not been waiting long enough to give them a chance to sprout, kept the lawn mowed.
This year I did not mow under the trees, and it took until later May/early June for the sprouts to show. They are easy to spot; very red stems and some may have the seed still on their first leaves. If they can' t push the seed off, it dies. I transplanted with a grass plugger and replanted in different types of areas. The ones planted in very moist, (not wet) soils survived best. My survival rate is only about 30%. So far I have about 20 living from over 60 sprouts. And a long way to go before first frost. After they go dormant I plan to transplant to where I want them to grow. These are totally wild trees, not hibrides. Dan O. has managed to sprout some using a mild acid bath overnite to soften the seed hulls. I have not tried this method.
I can' t say that the seeds that sprouted passed through animals, but they did come up under the parent tree. There was a lot of deer droppings under the trees. A couple of the sprouts have grown to about a foot tall. I will repost after first frost, (about Nov. here in No. Miss.) as to the survival of any sprouts.