Deer in Strange Places.

Greetings all,
I was walking back from my casual sight checking range behind our house a couple of days ago and spotted what looked like some small cloven hoof prints in the dust on the track. Walking through the trees closer to the house I heard a crash and put it down to a branch falling. Last evening however I walked past the back door, looked out and spotted something take a couple of bounds and disappear. I got am impression of a white bum. It was too big to be a hare so what was it? A deer? I have seen a deer on our block a long time ago but it was an escapee from down the road. I have also heard some say, perhaps a little more than half jokingly, that the only places in Hawkes Bay that there are no deer are the main streets of Napier and Hastings. We are 20 k's away from either of those.
So what say you people? Any stories of Sika turning up in strange places in Hawkes Bay?
Regards Grandpamac.

today in NZ there there will be and are Deer turning up in all sorts of places - on the outskirts of major city's like southern Auckland -northern parts of Wellington - enjoy the bonanza hunters - deer in NZ in many places are where ya find them - just hunt legally and enjoy - we have the best hunting now for 40 years - get into it

I keep waiting for them to turn up in a bit of native planting across from my house. Can't be long now :ORLY:

Taken from the DoC smoko room window. 🤣🤣
Attachment 249757

I shot a sika spiker up behind Tutira 7 years ago when I was a ranger at Boundary Stream.Presumably it made the crossing from Tataraakina.
I also shot one up Taruarau Bivi last November and saw a couple more too mixed in with the reds.

So they are moving around a bit.

3 that stand out from some years ago but shows how far deer can spread now not to say these were not releases that's a possibility but 1 ) a rusa shot at Tahunga back of Gisborne in seventies 2 ) a sambar shot at Patunamu forest just out of Wairoa again seventies -3 ) a sambar shot on Kiwi road North Taranaki and that not long ago -- all over 150 -200 km from their home territory

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by hebe

I also shot one up Taruarau Bivi last November and saw a couple more too mixed in with the reds.

---

I was bumping into Sika quite regularly out from Lessong Monument off the road to No Mans Hut, just across from Taruarau Biv about 30 years ago.

On the edges of Stoke there are plenty

Anyone bounced any Japs up the Mangahau, Northern Tararuas? when I was shooting for DOC in the 90's we boofed the odd one .The nucleus of a herd apparently kicked out the back of a trailer at the dams in the early 90's

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by grandpamac

Greetings all,
I was walking back from my casual sight checking range behind our house a couple of days ago and spotted what looked like some small cloven hoof prints in the dust on the track. Walking through the trees closer to the house I heard a crash and put it down to a branch falling. Last evening however I walked past the back door, looked out and spotted something take a couple of bounds and disappear. I got am impression of a white bum. It was too big to be a hare so what was it? A deer? I have seen a deer on our block a long time ago but it was an escapee from down the road. I have also heard some say, perhaps a little more than half jokingly, that the only places in Hawkes Bay that there are no deer are the main streets of Napier and Hastings. We are 20 k's away from either of those.
So what say you people? Any stories of Sika turning up in strange places in Hawkes Bay?
Regards Grandpamac.

---

There was and still is a mob of fallow at the bridge on outskirts of Fernhill including a whopper fallow stag from the mob which was killed by Apatu Farms staff on HW50 in the last month.

It has always amazed me that red deer seem to have migrated no further north than the kaimais. Seems to be that the Karangahake river stops them from entering the Coromandel Forest park.

If there were japs up here it would be perfect for them. Lots of Manuka gullies with access to pasture nearby. Clover etc.

Lots of pork up here. No deer but!!

There’s Sika one minute from fern hill

So yes they’re around your place

And plenty of fallow thanks to Ray Green and rising floodwaters

Nice Red Stag on the hill overlooking Taradale as well where they used to do the Sugar loaf hill climb

Looking straight down on the city centre

Reds used to be all the way out to the end of Farewell Spit, 25 km from the nearest hills. There are a few freshwater lakes out there.

Last winter I saw red footprints in the mudflats of Westhaven Inlet, apparently crossing between headlands at low tide (at night I guess). Also browsing the native that grows all the way down to the high water mark.

Red footprints all over the sand of one particular beach in the Abel Tasman.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by 7mmsaum

There’s Sika one minute from fern hill

So yes they’re around your place

And plenty of fallow thanks to Ray Green and rising floodwaters

Nice Red Stag on the hill overlooking Taradale as well where they used to do the Sugar loaf hill climb

Looking straight down on the city centre

---

Greetings and thanks,
That is interesting. There are a block of pines behind us and I have a stock trough halfway up the ridge to them. I will have to keep my eyes peeled in future.
GPM.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by 7mmsaum

There’s Sika one minute from fern hill

So yes they’re around your place

And plenty of fallow thanks to Ray Green and rising floodwaters

Nice Red Stag on the hill overlooking Taradale as well where they used to do the Sugar loaf hill climb

Looking straight down on the city centre

---

Probably the red stags from Symons on Springfield Road. Lost the lot poor bugger. He has finally refenced the block. Had some of his deer above the Nook looking down no doubt perplexed about how they got out.

There's been deer out Crownthorpe and Matipiro way for years. No surprise they're in Okawa area. Mainly reds though.

Tuwharatoa are up to their second replanting of pine trees in some blocks in the CNI. Won't even let the bros shoot the blocks and are spending more on poaching patrols than deer shooting.
Hard to comprehend the thought processes that the accountants/owners went through. Replantings have been in the hundreds of thousands of $ to redo.

And it just adds to the repositories of deer dotted about the landscape.

yes same as a lot of Gisborne pine blocks a few shut them up as their own little hunting blocks

Blenheim gets a visitor every now and then. I remember reading about these two.

Red

Ugly dog

There's a rumor that chamois have been seen on the beach as well.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Hahn

Blenheim gets a visitor every now and then. I remember reading about these two.

Red

Ugly dog

There's a rumor that chamois have been seen on the beach as well.

---

Wouldn't surprise me at all. I bumped into mobs of Chamois within a minute or two of the SH6 river bridges across most of the big west coast rivers. Would only be a day or two trundle down the riverbed to get to the coast and take in the sea breeze:thumbsup:

one really strange one that still stands out for me was one of our DOC staff a very experienced hunter shot a thar on the side of the road south of Taumaranui now where the hell did that come from - he saw it in a paddock and went back and tipped it over - another one I bet a lot of hunters dont know was that whitetail were released at a Port Waikato property - they were shot out by DOC or where they ?? I dont know myself - but yes they were there I have seen the photos

Someone's pet?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Barry the hunter

one really strange one that still stands out for me was one of our DOC staff a very experienced hunter shot a thar on the side of the road south of Taumaranui now where the hell did that come from - he saw it in a paddock and went back and tipped it over - another one I bet a lot of hunters dont know was that whitetail were released at a Port Waikato property - they were shot out by DOC or where they ?? I dont know myself - but yes they were there I have seen the photos

---

Sambar can be very elusive for a horse sized animal. Over the decades they have worked their way up the Rangatikei river valley, to now well past Taihape. One was shot close to the Gentle Annie some years ago.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by NIMROD

I was bumping into Sika quite regularly out from Lessong Monument off the road to No Mans Hut, just across from Taruarau Biv about 30 years ago.

---

Two roars ago I had one single calling well up between Barlow and Sparrowhawk too. They must just be pockety through that north end.

Attachment 249851

just seen 8 deer on the way home tonight 50m next to the state highway 20 minutes out of town

from a certain safari operator perhaps

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by XR500

Sambar can be very elusive for a horse sized animal. Over the decades they have worked their way up the Rangatikei river valley, to now well past Taihape. One was shot close to the Gentle Annie some years ago.

---

Still a fair handful of Sambar down foxton in the dunes and spotted about in the flax up past the whirikino bridge SH1

Mate nailed one a fortnight ago that strayed into the maize stubble, big bastard wouldn’t fit in the bucket on the 6040!

From what I know they were barged over to foxton, farm erected, but someone forgot how pissed up they get and no buyers for stank meat, so the fences were cut and they were let free. Allegedly.

No idea when that allegedly was, he’s dropped about 12 in the last 4 years or so so there is enough around to maintain a population.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Barry the hunter

one really strange one that still stands out for me was one of our DOC staff a very experienced hunter shot a thar on the side of the road south of Taumaranui now where the hell did that come from - he saw it in a paddock and went back and tipped it over - another one I bet a lot of hunters dont know was that whitetail were released at a Port Waikato property - they were shot out by DOC or where they ?? I dont know myself - but yes they were there I have seen the photos

---

Maybe not so strange, I have on occasion in the past been in the company of game park owners, guides etc.
Some of the plans regarding sika, tahr and whitetail had to be heard to be believed. All had one common denominator which was the Cook straight. If 5% of those plans came to fruition it would explain a lot.

ohhh yes the money the means some time

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Barry the hunter

ohhh yes the money the means some time

---

You got it in one

I only object when idjits let wapiti go in good red deer areas just stuffs up good red genetics and any young hunter will not be able to enter such a cross into any competition silly thing to do

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by tac a1

It has always amazed me that red deer seem to have migrated no further north than the kaimais. Seems to be that the Karangahake river stops them from entering the Coromandel Forest park.

If there were japs up here it would be perfect for them. Lots of Manuka gullies with access to pasture nearby. Clover etc.

Lots of pork up here. No deer but!!

---

Thought there were some Sika released/fell out of a trail on the top of the Kopu Hikuai road years ago, DoC sent hunters and dogs in after them. Yes i agree there would have been a lot of fun on the Paninsula

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Barry the hunter

I only object when idjits let wapiti go in good red deer areas just stuffs up good red genetics and any young hunter will not be able to enter such a cross into any competition silly thing to do

---

Greetings @Barry the hunter and all,
Many of the red deer brought to NZ were from the English game parks which had already been crossed with other red subspecies to improve antler quality. This included deer from Eastern Europe close to the western range of the Wapiti group, also a Red subspecies. The genetics of most red deer were scrambled long ago.
Regards GPM.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Barry the hunter

one really strange one that still stands out for me was one of our DOC staff a very experienced hunter shot a thar on the side of the road south of Taumaranui now where the hell did that come from - he saw it in a paddock and went back and tipped it over - another one I bet a lot of hunters dont know was that whitetail were released at a Port Waikato property - they were shot out by DOC or where they ?? I dont know myself - but yes they were there I have seen the photos

---

That tahr or similar was shot at Taihape which came from a safari park in the district.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by XR500

Wouldn't surprise me at all. I bumped into mobs of Chamois within a minute or two of the SH6 river bridges across most of the big west coast rivers. Would only be a day or two trundle down the riverbed to get to the coast and take in the sea breeze:thumbsup:

---

Ive watched chamois grazing on the Franz airstrip, and seen them on the beach further south.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by TeRei

There was and still is a mob of fallow at the bridge on outskirts of Fernhill including a whopper fallow stag from the mob which was killed by Apatu Farms staff on HW50 in the last month.

---

The number of fallow about here is mental, we've had 3 mva call outs in a month car vs deer all at night on 50, the rut is always the worst time as there moving about.
There's some impressive stags getting shot at night on the road.

Sent from my SM-S916B using Tapatalk

Not so much of a strange place but still was hard case to see.
I was in a block of the Clarance this roar and watched some hunters drive up to the Neighbours hut and transfer their kit into a side by side to set off for a hunt.
A Fallow spiker walked out of a patch of scrub 50 meters from them, watched them for a while and ducked down the riverbank. The spiker wandered along the riverbank, which was open grass, but out of view from the hut. When he got to a patch of scrub he would move up and watch the guys. He did this for about 20 minutes before wandering off into the scrub on the edge of the river.
Went south of Kaikoura at night and saw 3 fallow on the front lawn of a house down a side road 100 meters from the state highway, as I drove past, they just looked up and it was only when I stopped, they walked off.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by gmm

Not so much of a strange place but still was hard case to see.
I was in a block of the Clarance this roar and watched some hunters drive up to the Neighbours hut and transfer their kit into a side by side to set off for a hunt.
A Fallow spiker walked out of a patch of scrub 50 meters from them, watched them for a while and ducked down the riverbank. The spiker wandered along the riverbank, which was open grass, but out of view from the hut. When he got to a patch of scrub he would move up and watch the guys. He did this for about 20 minutes before wandering off into the scrub on the edge of the river.
Went south of Kaikoura at night and saw 3 fallow on the front lawn of a house down a side road 100 meters from the state highway, as I drove past, they just looked up and it was only when I stopped, they walked off.

---

I am convinced that Sika hinds follow you as you hunt through their territory. If you do anything unexpected like take your jacket of to shed some layers they will squeal. Had this happen two days in a row. They will also sneak past you in full view if you are looking the other way, keeping their eye on you all the time. Turn your head and they are gone.
GPM.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by grandpamac

Greetings @Barry the hunter and all,
Many of the red deer brought to NZ were from the English game parks which had already been crossed with other red subspecies to improve antler quality. This included deer from Eastern Europe close to the western range of the Wapiti group, also a Red subspecies. The genetics of most red deer were scrambled long ago.
Regards GPM.

---

granted but that was over 100 years ago - what I mean is idjits releasing wapiti from modern genetics and recently like last 20 years - and many are from modern imported American genetics - different ball game altogether - Waverly south Taranaki - parts of Gisborne - wapiti are a subspecies of red yes - same family as red Cervus but a sub species cervus Canadensis - but two different deer - my point on young hunters trying to enter what is obviously a cross in any competition stands