  A Bose-Einstein condensate of atoms, trapped in an axially symmetric harmonic
potential, is considered. By averaging the spatial density along the symmetry
direction over a length that preserves the aspect ratio, the system may be
mapped on to a zero temperature noninteracting Fermi-like gas. The ``mock
fermions'' have a state occupancy factor $(>>1)$ proportional to the ratio of
the coherance length to the ``hard-core'' radius of the atom. The mapping
reproduces the ground state properties of the condensate, and is used to
estimate the vortex excitation energy analytically. The ``mock-fermion''
description predicts some novel collective excitation in the condensed phase.
