nzhuntinginfo

Wild Animal Behaviour Alpine Game This fellow recently photographed in the Canterbury high country knows that something's up so he's following his instinct and looking downhill. New Zealand doesn't have any natural predators for chamois but this sort of response to danger makes you wonder about the tactics of the chamois' natural predators in Europe...me thinks climb high and jump although you wouldn't want to go over the edge here. There's a genuine 300m drop below.

Yes, Whoever is over here will be having a fantastic time...anyone interested in the outdoors loves New Zealand. On its website the New Zealand NOLS promotes the following exciting past times..... Back packing, canoeing, caving climbing, flyfishing, horsepacking, mountaineering, rafting, river kayaking, sailing sea kayaking skiing plitboarding. But one of the most exciting of the outdoor pursuits is MISSING.

Bull Tahr Tahr trophies can be difficult to judge in the field. This one is only about four years old. It would be fully black if it were a mature bull but it should grow into a good trophy animal judging by the current length of the horns.

Chamois Winter Coat Because of heavy hunting pressure, Alpine Chamois tend to inhabit rugged mountains. I was lucky that this chamois got hung up in some vegetation and didn't roll 500 feet down the hillside. It is only possible to move around on the higher ground because the hillsides are cut by impassable gullys. If you shoot an animal low down you have to climb back up onto the ridge.

Thanks for your encouraging comments. Alpine hunting for tahr and chamois in New Zealand, especially on public land does require a high level of fitness. This recent photo shows a group of chamois during the rut on public land. It is unusual to see mobs of chamois like this because of high hunting pressure.

Winter Chamois Buck This buck is mooching around during the rut in June just before we experienced one of the biggest snowfalls for decades.

He finally made it onto the ridge and saw me at around 20 meters. One snort and he was off. I wonder if the choppers will get him in the next 12 months.

He didn't make any more noises but what was amazing was how accurately he had pinpointed my position... and was now well under 100m from me and just quietly coming in. An animal like this on public land has to survive commercial venison hunting by helicopter. (although the helicopters are not allowed to hunt during the rut). As a result many deer become semi-nocturnal.

I gave a low growl. So quietly that he didn't hear at first. Suddenly his ears pricked up but he stayed sitting and roared. Then after a few minutes he stood up and started raking the ground. He was on his way to say hello to me.

THE RED STAG RUT (ROAR) NEW ZEALAND The roar started early for me this year...I was lucky to get onto some good active Red Stags on public land in Mid March. In new Zealand we have wild deer herds that originate from liberations made 100 years ago using founder stock from various parts of the UK and Scotland. This photo was taken at 109m with 12 optical zoom. When I put up the next photo of this stag maybe you can relate to the process of roaring in a Red Stag

Alpine Chamois New Zealand has the only huntable chamois in the southern hemisphere. They are a very popular game animal. This is what the doe in the last photo looked like after my mate shot her companion. The pic is taken from @ 20m with about 10 x optical zoom.

Alpine chamois in New Zealand are hunted 24/7 like this one on public land. A commercial venison recovery helicopter was also hunting the same area on the same morning so this chamois was very touchy.

Those are pure blood Red Stags. This is a picture taken last week of a NZ Elk accelerating uphill...look carefully and note the throw back at the top of the horns.

This is what the stags are looking like at this time of the year over here.

Chamois Summer Coat This is what chamois look like at this time of the year. They have the eyesight of an eagle. During the middle of the day they lie up to chew their cud...it is very difficult to get close without being seen.