Sika Deer
Back in the early 1980’s, when I set out on my first ever deer hunt, all the way to New Zealand with two mates to hunt sika, you could say we were well and truly jumping in the deep end. Unbeknown to us greenhorn deer hunters at the time, we were about to pit our limited deer hunting skills against one of the wiliest species of deer there is to hunt, anywhere in the world.
Both the deer’s cunning and the intimidating nature of the terrain we hunted, deep within the heavily forested Kiamanawa mountain range on New Zealand’s North I16sland, meant that my first ever deer hunt was one sharp learning curve. The challenge was such that the memory of that hunt has lived with me ever since and spurred me on to learn more about deer and hone my skills, so that I would become a better hunter.
Adorned with a unique style of antler, a mature sika stag is a highly prized trophy amongst hunters. During the rutting period, which extends from early April until late May, stags are extremely vocal, territorial and vigorously defend the right to mate with whatever females they can hold in their harem. Whilst sika deer are Asiatic in origin they were first introduced into New Zealand in 1905 from stock in England. Since their release, they have steadily increased their range to the point where they now occupy a large part of the bush clad, mountainous interior of New Zealand’s North Island. Excellent hunting opportunities and trophy potential exist for this highly sort after species of deer.