Sika Deer - South Pacific | Online Record Book Preview

Cervus nippon

Sika (Sp), Sikahirsch (G), Sika (F). "Sika" is from the Japanese shika for this animal. Sometimes called Japanese deer.

DESCRIPTION A medium-sized deer, varying considerably in size, color and markings, depending on the race. It is generally assumed that both Manchurian sika and Japanese sika are found on the North Island of New Zealand (although it is not really known how the latter got there), with at least some hybridization having taken place. The larger Manchurian form predominates, with stags standing 35-38 inches (89-97 cm) at the shoulder and weighing 180-210 pounds (82-95 kg). The relatively scarcer Japanese form is smaller. Females are considerably smaller than males.

The summer coat is a rich chestnut-red with numerous white spots and a black dorsal line. A large, white rump patch of erectile hairs, bordered with black, is present in all seasons. Underparts are white, chin and throat are whitish or gray. The coat becomes gray in winter, with the spots indistinct, and the underparts and legs turn dark gray or black. As with red deer and wapiti, sika deer have upper canine teeth. Typical antlers have four points to a side (main beam plus three tines), with a strong brow tine growing close to the burr, no bez tine, a trez tine, and above the trez tine an inner top tine growing on the inside of the main beam to form a forward-facing terminal fork. However, many mature heads have only 6-7 points in total, while others may have 10 or more. Any points in excess of four are usually basal snags or extra inner tops, and are always non-typical. Palmation is rather common in the form of webbing, usually in old stags whose antlers are going back. Sika antlers are strongly built, the beams being reinforced with a pronounced ridge between brow and trez tines. Longest antler of record is 35-1/2 inches (90.2 cm) and was taken near Mahaka River on the North Island of New Zealand in 1983.

BEHAVIOR Usually solitary or in small family groups of a female and her offspring, and sometimes a stag as well. Prior to the rut, adult males establish territories, marking boundaries by urinating and scraping the ground with forelegs and antlers. Males are very noisy and aggressive during the rut, fighting each other-sometimes with serious consequences-to establish dominance, with the winners gathering harems of as many as 12 females, though six is more usual. The stag's roar starts as a high-pitched scream and often ends with a sound much like the "hee-haw" of a donkey. The rut occurs mid-April to early May, with fawns born in January.

Sika are primarily browsers. Alert and wary, they venture from cover only to search for food, and become almost totally nocturnal when persecuted. Eyesight, sense of smell and hearing are all good. They run with a bouncing gait.

HABITAT Forests and forest edges, depending on the season. In winter they choose sunny slopes near dense cover. In summer they may feed on grassy flats. Usually below altitudes of 3,700 feet (1,125 m), but occasionally as high as 4,500 feet (1,370 m).

DISTRIBUTION Wild sika deer are found only on the North Island of New Zealand. The main population occupies a large, more-or-less continuous range in the central part of the island, concentrated in Kaimanawa and Kaweka state forest parks and the Ahimanawa Range, but also in southern Urewera National Park, northern Ruahine State Forest Park, and the forests west of Lake Taupo. There is also a small herd in the Awakeri Hills near the Bay of Plenty. In addition, enclosed herds may be found on a number of private estates on the North Island.

REMARKS Sika deer are native to the mainland of eastern Asia, to the Japanese islands, and Taiwan. They were first imported to New Zealand's South Island in 1885, but were not allowed to become established there when it was found they damaged crops. In 1905, seven sika deer that were a gift from the English Duke of Bedford were released near Lake Taupo on North Island and quickly spread throughout the region. These were reputed to be pure descendants of Manchurian sika that had been imported from Manchuria to the duke's estate at Woburn Abbey in England; however, it appears that either they were not purebred or that there have been unrecorded importations of Japanese sika in New Zealand, because the present population exhibits considerable variation in size and color. According to Allison, no other deer liberated in New Zealand has held its own and expanded its territory, despite the many efforts to eradicate it, as has the sika. Attempts to introduce sika deer to Australia between 1887-1900 were unsuccessful.

Sika deer are excellent game animals in every respect. Stags can be called when rutting, but the caller must be within a stag's territory when doing so, because they are reluctant to cross their own territorial boundaries. Stags become aggressive during the roar, even toward man, and can be dangerous when wounded.