Thread: What do kaimai's deer eat?

Hi all.

I usually frequent the mangamuka hut off the train tuhi track which is south of the wairere falls.

There's a shit load of supple jack and ponga ferns and some form or flax grass. Kie kie was what some helpful old hunter called it I think.

But I have never really noticed any of the famed broadleaf or white wood or Coprosma related. It might be my untrained eyes not noticing them though.

I read a book called hunting smarter for big game by some Dutch fella. He reckoned walking relatively briskly in between the spots of good feed increase your chances of finding an animal. The problem is I can never seem to tell if I am in a good feed area.

Thanks in advance.

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Around there, I often come across them in the areas on broad leaved grass under open canopy. This isn't flax or kiekie - its about 30-40 cm high. I don't think they eat it but they like the areas.

They do seem to eat kiekie, which is a vine that has a 3-4 cm thick white stem with many circular grooves so it looks like a vacuum cleaner hose. It can grown in neck deep tangles or more but smaller versions can be waist tall like mini cabbage trees and on top of ridges deer like to lie up in them and you can see they do eat them.

The main tree you see browsed ids "broadleaf" Griselinia littoralis. It's uncommon to see actual leaves remaining below about 2m from the ground where deer can reach it but mature trees make a good supply of sprouts that the deer nibble away.

Thank you very much

Originally Posted by Bagheera

Around there, I often come across them in the areas on broad leaved grass under open canopy. This isn't flax or kiekie - its about 30-40 cm high. I don't think they eat it but they like the areas.

They do seem to eat kiekie, which is a vine that has a 3-4 cm thick white stem with many circular grooves so it looks like a vacuum cleaner hose. It can grown in neck deep tangles or more but smaller versions can be waist tall like mini cabbage trees and on top of ridges deer like to lie up in them and you can see they do eat them.

The main tree you see browsed ids "broadleaf" Griselinia littoralis. It's uncommon to see actual leaves remaining below about 2m from the ground where deer can reach it but mature trees make a good supply of sprouts that the deer nibble away.

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There are definite patches of broadleaf that they eat up there, also astelia and different large leaf coprosmas.

Originally Posted by tanqueray

There are definite patches of broadleaf that they eat up there, also astelia and different large leaf coprosmas.

I just need to find them then!

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They eat supple jack ends as well. And browse on about everything if it's shoots. They are pretty hard to pattern up there due to the flat terrain. They like the punga guts and areas that have that broad leaf grass

Originally Posted by Nick-D

They eat supple jack ends as well. And browse on about everything if it's shoots. They are pretty hard to pattern up there due to the flat terrain. They like the punga guts and areas that have that broad leaf grass

Thanks. I will have a look for a punga gut next time I am there

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I have found they like to bed down in the ponga guts near food sources. On the other side of the range there is a fucktonne of 7 finger? if that's what its called.

Is that where the inbreds are

Originally Posted by Gibo

I have found they like to bed down in the ponga guts near food sources. On the other side of the range there is a fucktonne of 7 finger? if that's what its called.

Seems like it.

I found a bed or two near a whole area full of the ponga ferns.

Yeah 5 finger and 7 finger. I only go Waikato side though. Too lazy to drive the extra 30 minutes to get to bay of plenty side hahaha

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Yea there is broadleaf in there. You'll hardly ever find any leaves on the ground. I was once in there and found a bunch of mushrooms nibbled on and deer sleeping peacefully 20m away.

The main food source is normally on the northern side of faces which gets the most sun but is also the hardest to bush stalk.

I found some clearings last time that had grass mowed down like a golf green and shit everywhere

THOSE MOTHER F$%KERS LIKE TO EAT LEAD SOUP.

That was some straight up ghetto shit.

Don’t forget as well that the block borders farmland, if you venture down that hill side you’ll find game trails everywhere.

Originally Posted by Gibo

I have found they like to bed down in the ponga guts near food sources. On the other side of the range there is a fucktonne of 7 finger? if that's what its called.

I think they call that one Pate or something like that similar to Five Finger.