This kind of trophy is easily comparable if not much better to harvest than a younger stag with longer lighter weight beams and all the gear but yet to reach the peak of its life. Their summer coat colour is usually a reddish-brown, and in winter their hair is longer and the colour is often dark grey-brown. Sambar deer (Indian Elk, Ceylon Elk,) are the second largest round-horned deer in the world with North American Wapiti (Elk) being the largest round-horn and Moose with its palmate antlers being the overall giant of the deer world. And when you think about it, these stewards of the forest have had centuries of game management policies implemented and ingrained into their culture. They prefer to remain hidden during the day and do most of their grazing at night. They also have a mane of long hair running down their back. The New Zealand Sambar originated from Ceylon also with 11 separate shipments made between 1875 and 1921. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Maybe its just the climate and high temperatures. I'd have a grin a mile wide if I bagged that beauty. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. [more than 661 pounds] (males). If there is any rule about sambar antlers, it is that, though similar, they are almost never identical. While other continents have a wide array of deer, Africa only has one, the Barbary red deer, according to ADW. Despite their large build, Sambar deer have been given a nickname among Australian hunters, THE GHOST. Sambar antlers are unique to the species which makes Sambar stags easily identifiable. sambar deer stock pictures, royalty-free photos & images. But in NSW, Victoria and Tasmania deer are protected for hunters wanting some sport. Sure some areas consistently produce good heads, but in general the deer population changes, pressure from hunters will swing, fires will burn in certain areas, deer will shift catchments and rainfall and snow levels vary annually. Mature animals show a prominent pale coloured . Sometimes you just get lucky by Donna Maggs, Zebras Sambar Hunting Adventures Guided Hunt Glenda and her Stag. Wilder, isnt there a proposal floating around in your area to stop bowhunting. The Sambar deer has a wide range across Asia, and is considered to be common in most parts of its range. Following. Sambar are Australia's largest feral deer species. The fallow deer is a herbivore and feeds on leaves, grasses, and fruits. Yeah! I recently put trail cameras on a plateau where I used to get lots of big mature stags with great antler formation following the big fires. This service may include material from Agence France-Presse (AFP), APTN, Reuters, AAP, CNN and the BBC World Service which is copyright and cannot be reproduced. Red deer live together in herds of around 100 individuals. Males also weigh about 50 pounds, while females weigh about 40 pounds. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Access is by arranged registered safari vehicle and guide only and tourists are not permitted to exit safari vehicles (unless in designated safe car parks and walking track areas). Farmers and environmentalists want them declared a pest and professionally culled. This deer is easily recognizable by its distinctive white spots which are set against its reddish-brown coat. on the south east coast lying alongside watercourses with the Indian Ocean in the background. There are open seasons and bag limits in Victoria for game deer, duck and quail; these allow for great hunting while also ensuring the sustainable management of species. One minute the wind is up our arses; the next minute, it is in our faces. Sambar antlers have 1 tine coming off the brow, and then 2 tines at the top known as forks. What a great looking animal. David Lindsay is a seniorbiosecurity officer with the North West Local Land Service. Im not saying one method is better than the other, but its just an example of how you really cant compare sambar stags taken by different hunters as there is so much more to the hunt than simply how big a certain stag was that you harvested. Your email address will not be published. We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we live, learn, and work. Sambar deer are nocturnal or crepuscular (preferring twilight or low light). The only deer species that outgrow sambars are moose and elk. And yes they can carry lead,,, one stag I monitored was hit three times with 308 to put it down , when being cut up another 20 old projectiles were found ranging from .22 to 45 slug. Large populations Sambar deer are established in the Eastern parts of Australia, mainly in South Australia, Victoria and NSW where there are many hotpots with large numbers, making them suitable game for all avid hunters. Later releases were at Ercildoune, between Ballarat and Mount Cole and at Wilsons Promontory and French Island in Westernport Bay. Always remind your mates around the campfire or in the ute heading up the bush how lucky we are to be able to hunt this incredible resource so freely. Females (hinds) do not have antlers. Males reach a shoulder height of about 1.2 m (4 ft), while females reach a height of around 0.9 m (3 ft). Don't have an account? These deer are relatively small, with males being about 2.5 feet tall at the shoulder and females being about 2 feet tall. CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne. Your email address will not be published. Rusa deer are the largest type of deer in Australia, and they are a subspecies of red deer. Hoof size amongst Australia's deer varies greatly with hog deer having the smallest and red deer the largest, with sambar having relatively smaller feet than reds considering their quite large body size. Every time a hunter shoots a mature stag, it can be quite a while before another mature animal moves in. I was left wondering what we may have missed! Their antlers are typically 3 tines per side, up to 110 cm (43) long and the early Bhopal (India) world record for length was 50 . Australia Joined September 2013. The population of sambar on the Cobourg Peninsula in the Northern Territory is stable and not expanding its range. "If we can't find them, we can't monitor them, and they're just really difficult to control.". A small group of sambar has survived on French Island for many years and individual deer have been known to swim back and forth to the mainland. Its not unlike some of the low-veldt of Africa and with a selection of wildlife including Elephant, Buffalo, Sloth Bear, Leopard, Chital, Sambar, Sri Lanka Wild Hog, Crocodile, small animals and abundant birdlife. After travelling to the commencement of the circular walking track that leads to Worlds End we walked for some time and sighted additional young Sambar feeding hard alongside dense forest verges. Australia and New Zealands premiere dedicated Deer Hunting Magazine. This site is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. The bottom line is they are all trophies and provide fantastic memories to the hunter and meat on the dinner plate so who are we to judge and determine purely by numbers whether an animal is a trophy or not. History: Introduced to Australia and New Zealand in the 1860's from Sri Lanka and India. It is quite normal for the majority of the human population to be unaware of the existence of sambar populations in our forested areas. We at the The Australian Hunting Exchange use 308 Win . They have a distinctive honking/ barking calls when alarmed. Add a new record, such as a sighting, photograph, evidence, pest impact or control activity. Sambar have spread from the outskirts of Melbourne throughout Victorias Great Dividing Range well into New South Wales and a limited herd exists just to the south of Sydney that commenced from deer farm escapees (evidence exists of some hybridization with the local Rusa population). (Some may say that the Red deer is the largest, but wh Continue Reading Sponsored by Sane Solution Throat phlegm? The fallow deer was introduced to Australia in the 19th century and now inhabits forested areas of the country. They are strong and tough animals with a thick hide and coarse hair of a uniform brown colour on the body. There were additional, albeit vaguely reported, releases at several locations throughout Victoria and some of the herds from various release sites soon spread to join each other. Sambar Deer originated from India, Ceylon and Malaysia, and were introduced to Australia in the 1860s. Gryphon lives in a region where sambar are resident in the mountain forests and he is always out after them with rifle or camera. "They seem to be moving up the north coast at a fairly rapid rate, and we also seem to find them in river systems. The weather is against us. Live for the moment and experience and dont ever compare yourself or the animals you hunt to other hunters and their success. They also damage native vegetation and sensitive habitats. The bottom line is if your favourite hunting area is not known for fantastic antler formation, then it is possible you might never shoot that big attractive style of stag. Deer Identification Guide, NSW Local Land Services. Due to this their size and shape, including antlers, varies considerably between countries and regions. Yala National Park on the southeast coast of Sri Lanka is the most popular of the national parks and its instantly apparent why! The coat forms a ruff around its neck and is an unspotted, dark brown in colour. Natural events such as floods and wildfire, and human activities like forestry and fuel reduction burning, play their part in producing good or bad habitat for wildlife and the sambar respond to these changing conditions in the same way as native mammals. These animals are similar in appearance to pigs, hence their name. How will these rainforests recover? The belly, rump and inside of the legs are generally lighter in color than the rest of the body. From the coast to the highest ranges in the divide they have colonized and conquered with ease. You'll hear proponents of .30-06 and even .300WM but unless you hunt on valleys and make 500m+ shots on large sambar or reds, its not worth it. It is, but hunting anything 'feral' is a big deal. These animals generally live in forested areas, but can also be found in grasslands and scrublands. Recently while photographic-hunting Sri Lankas many national parks I captured Sambar in Yala N.P. They are semi-nocturnal preferring to remain hidden during the day. The Big Game was never intended for a collector (I for one didnt bear that in mind). Sambar deer were later released at Burrumbeet in Western Victoria (these eventually lead to establishing the Mount Cole herd), Mount Zero in the Grampians and Snake Island off Port Welshpool. Even keeping in mind that a large percentage of genetics also comes from the females, how do you think the offspring of those weaker antlered stags are going to develop? Wild Hogs and an Elephant but searches of the water storages and grounds failed to locate Sambar. The wind up our arse. They generally prefer to live in small groups where there are dominant females with fawns and yearlings. Hunters generally dont find these types of stags appealing to shoot or dont want to shoot them in case a better antlered stag is in the next valley, so generally they leave them alone and just keep on hunting. on average. The conclusion of my series 'Hunting Basics' (that was designed to primarily assist 'learning deer hunters') has lead to the challenging task of [] Males (stags) have antlers which they shed each year and grow back again. Likes. Lost your password . Rob Fickling & ex worlds strongest man Magnus Samuelsson sit with one of the sambar deer shot while filming for Aimpoint Hunts the globe 3 and Beyond the Divide season 5 . They have been very successfully introduced into the wild in Australia, New Zealand, and Florida and to a lesser extent California (USA), and enclosures in both Texas and South Africa. It was widely reported that the deer quickly spread both north and northeast along river systems and also southeast and wherever there was suitable habitat. Sambar, traditionally inhabit tropical dry forests, tropical seasonal forests, sub tropical mixed forests, with conifers, broadleaved deciduous and broadleaved evergreen trees to tropical rain forest, and seldom moves far from water sources. The axis deer is hunted for its meat and antlers, which are used in traditional Chinese medicine. The hair around the neck is coarse and mane-like, particularly on mature males. Just something to consider in that space. Bentley also states that the most important liberation took place in 1868 on Harewood situated on the Koo-Wee-Rup Swamp and the Tobin Yallock Swamp in the vicinity of Tooradin. Their antlers can be described as have 3 tines (tines are the points that diverge from the main antler). Our highly recommended Sri Lanka driver/personalized tour operator Terry is detailed on my Murray Thomas Taxidermy Facebook page under Services. IMG_20201217_182107.jpg. The sambar deer ( Cervus unicolor ) is Australia's largest deer species (140 kg for females, 220 kg for males), and has a large and expanding range in south-eastern Australia ( Forsyth et al . Populations have declined substantially due to severe hunting, local insurgency, and industrial exploitation of habitat. Their ear shape resembles that of a bat. "Sambar deer are widespread throughout Victoria. The fallow deer is a medium-sized deer that is native to Europe, Asia Minor, and the Middle East. The sambar is abundantly hunted in Victoria. Delicious South India dish Sambar in a bowl Delicious South India dish Sambar in a bowl closeup shot sambar deer stock pictures, royalty-free photos & images . It is likely this age class also makes up the highest percentage of stags in our population across all sambar habitat. This behaviour is usually accompanied by stomping and then a quick dash through the scrub. They are renown for wandering long distance from main ranges. Prior to applying for a Game Licence to hunt with hounds, you need to pass the hound-hunting-test. The problem the "Big Game" faces on this forum, is that we are all collectors. Removing a big stag in any area only gives the lesser males greater opportunity to serve the hinds. Sambar are the largest of Australias wild deer and the third largest of all deer species behind moose and wapiti. Their coat is coarse and uniform in colour that varies from red-brown to almost black, but predominately dark brown. 2. This is far from an ideal situation when the long-term benefit of the herd is considered. Jan 18, 2020. Game deer species. The red deer is a herbivore and feeds on grasses, herbs, shrubs and trees. And low-&-behold this rifle was intended for that market! The old second degree of separation, so a few of the lads at work have had the head round at their place, I might have a push to try and get eyes on the head at some point to. Sure its nice to throw numbers around, but when the dust has settled and the stag is either up on the wall or sitting in the shed with all the others, I can tell you right now it will be the memories of the hunt you remember more than anything concerning each and every deer you harvest. Sure another deer might step up the next day, but the point is there is no factory of older age class stags in the forest waiting for their opportunity to hold control in a certain area, in fact its likely the opposite. Manage Settings When discussing red stag shot placement, we are . The ABC goes bush with some of the hunters helping control deer numbers. You are new here? They were first released in the early 1860s at Mount Sugarloaf in what is now the Kinglake National Park, and at Harewood, near Tooradin, on the edge of the then Koo Wee Rup swamp. Feral sambar are a growing pest threat. and stand as tall as 137cm (54 inches) at the withers (shoulder). As we have seen, there are six different types of deer in Australia. Male red deer (stags) grow antlers each year which they shed before growing new ones; females (hinds) do not have antlers. Sambar deer are the largest of the bunch, while hog deer are the smallest. Yet to be officially scored. So your head would finally tally up 72 + 11 + 42 = 125 points. From the coast to the highest ranges in the divide they have colonized and conquered with ease. The weather is against us. [1] Individuals belonging to the western subspecies (India and Sri Lanka) are larger than those from the east and they have occasionally been recorded weighing over 700lbs and measuring taller than 58 inches. When threatened, the fallow deer will flee rather than fight. If you think about it, many stags get left alone on the hill because they dont have that trophy appeal. 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