Thread: Winter Wallowing

Hi all

I went into the Pureoras last Friday to retrieve my game cameras I had in there over the roar. I figured there won't be much action around the wallows now so might as well bring them home.

How wrong I was. Really surprised me to see animals (mainly hinds, but the odd stag too) using the wallows from the end of May right through until July. The temperature readings on the camera suggests they are wallowing at temperatures down to zero degrees. I have had people tell me that red deer are much less fussed with the cold than sika, but this totally blew me away. They are tough! I'm thinking they must be wallowing to control lice, cause this ain't some summer cool off in the swimming hole! The footage shows that they often will wallow, then stand up and bend their neck around to scratch their flank with their nose, similar to how cattle do when they're itchy.

Below are some stills from my cameras showing animals wallowing in May, June and July (the year is wrong - it says 2023 but should be 2024). Check out the temperatures! Great to see most animals are in fantastic condition, it must have been a good autumn and early winter with plenty of feed in the bush.

Happy hunting!

So how's the bow hunting going? Pureoras be a neat place for that.

Winter can be a really bad time for lice and ticks. animals under stress have lower immunity and ability to deal with infestations. Also their hair is thicker and offers more protection for the infestation. Wallowing at this time will likely be all about this.

Great footage confirms what I have seen around a wallow I visited last month looked well used

The last 2 spikers I shot a week and a half ago had just come from a wallow

How likely are bush deer to have lice / ticks ?
Only ticks I ever saw on deer were farm Fallow.

well that got me thinking I don't recall seeing lice or ticks on deer in the bush Te Urewera Waioeka Waikaremoana and yet pigs in same area crawling with them - hunting Waitotara in summer and dry rank grass- ticks lots of them

I have seen them on wild sheep but as yet not on deer

That stag looks pregnant, a very full tummy

Originally Posted by Barry the hunter

well that got me thinking I don't recall seeing lice or ticks on deer in the bush Te Urewera Waioeka Waikaremoana and yet pigs in same area crawling with them - hunting Waitotara in summer and dry rank grass- ticks lots of them

Yeah, good point. I have shot pigs with ticks and shot deer in the same locale that appeared to have no bugs. Admittedly I wasn't looking thoroughly but I'd be almost certain they had none.

I've never seen lice on wild deer. Plenty on pigs though. But different lice to what farmed deer get. The lice I've across on farmed deer have always been small like sheep lice.

Originally Posted by SmokeyJason

So how's the bow hunting going? Pureoras be a neat place for that.

Yeah I really enjoy hunting with the bow. I only actually picked up a bow for the first time at the end of last year. Have shot one deer with it, but it was my most intense hunting experience. I'm not the most patient of hunters, I like to cover a lot of ground and often shoot animals (when hunting with a rifle) that are in a state of alertness. So the bow has been a bit of a steep learning curve, as it really encourages you to be more patient and wait for the perfect shot. I reckon it's awesome for bush stalking, which is pretty much all of my hunting. Most animals I see in the bush are within bow range, but the difference is getting that perfect broadside shot. Don't get me wrong though, when the freezer's getting low I'm reaching for my .308!

Originally Posted by 7mmwsm

I've never seen lice on wild deer. Plenty on pigs though. But different lice to what farmed deer get. The lice I've across on farmed deer have always been small like sheep lice.

True, I have never seen them on deer either. Not sure if deer are the same but you can tell if a cattle beast is badly infested, as it will scratch patches of hair off its neck and shoulder. These animals all appear happy and healthy, but I can't think of any other reason why on earth they'd be wallowing. Perhaps it's just ingrained behaviour. MUST...WALLLOWWWW.....

Duck and pig lice are big. Sheep, cattle deer lice are not. Most people only see ticks on those animals. Cattle and sheep will rub themselves raw from lice but unless you really look you wont see them. Id never seen one until I had one attach too my eyelid one day after working with calves. Was a bastard to get off too.

I've been in the Lewis Pass the last few days and came across a couple of freshly used wallows too, one only just out of the river flats. Been some hard frosts here recently so was interesting to see animals so low down