Red Deer

Red hind and Fawn
Red Deer from English and Scottish stock were first liberated for sport near Nelson in 1851. Since then well over 100 liberations were made up to 1924. The Red Deer is one of the largest deer species. Stags are typically 175–230 cm long and weigh in at approx 160–240 kg (350–530 lbs); the female is 160–210 cm and weighs 120–170 kg (264–374 lbs). These figures are for european red deer, stags in New Zealand can get very large but are in general a bit smaller than the values stated. Red Deer tend to be reddish-brown in their summer coats but get darker in their winter coat. The males grow a short neck mane during the autumn.
The dominant stags follow groups of hinds during the rut, which in New Zealand is late march to late april. Stags will hold a harem of up to 20 hinds. Only mature stags hold harems and breeding success peaks at about 8 years of age. Younger Stags dont usually hold harems and spend the majority of their time at the periphery of dominant stags harems.

Rutting stag

Roaring Red
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Please click here to go back to main big game animals page.
Go to our FORUM now. Click 


