CHAPTER IV. UNGULATA DEER.

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Exclusive of horses and pigs, all the other ungulates which have been introduced into New Zealand and have become established here belong to the group of ruminants, or ruminating animals. They are so called because they “ruminate”—that is, after the food has been rapidly swallowed it is forced back up the gullet and more thoroughly masticated. Belonging to this group we have to deal with deer, oxen, goats, and sheep. These animals agree in the following zoological characters: They have all two digits or toes on the feet, which are therefore popularly known as “cloven.” They have no upper incisor teeth, and the canines in the upper jaw are frequently wanting. They are furnished with horns—a very special characteristic—sometimes only on the males, sometimes on both sexes. The stomach has four chambers. The first is the large paunch, or rumen, the organ which in cattle constitutes the well-known article of food termed “tripe.” This opens into a smaller bag, the reticulum, or honeycomb bag, so called on account of the network arrangement of the folds or ridges of the mucous membrane which lines it. The reticulum opens into the psalterium, or “many-plies,” a globular organ, the interior of which is filled with folds, or laminae, which are arranged like the leaves of a book, and very close together; hence both the technical and popular names. The fourth chamber is the abomasum, or reed, sometimes called the rennet-stomach. This is the stomach proper, in which the digestion of the food is carried on, and it is the part which when removed from calves is employed for the curdling of milk.

Deer are distinguished from all other ruminants by the presence of antlers, which in all our introduced forms occur in the males only. These antlers are very interesting organs. In the commencement of the spring a pair of knobs is to be seen upon the forehead of the adult male animal. This is covered with a nearly smooth dark skin, and a scar can be detected in the middle of each, which is that left by the antler of the year before when it fell off. With advancing spring these knobs commence to grow, feel warm to the touch, and sprout out, as it were, round the scar. One branch takes a forward direction, whilst a second and larger one makes its way backward. These become in the fully-formed antler the brow-antler and the main beam. As long as the antler, which is composed of genuine bone of very dense texture, is increasing in size it is covered with the same warm, black skin as is the knob from which it sprang, and as this skin is covered with short, fine, close-set hair it has received the name of the “velvet.” It is this velvet which secretes the bony texture of the antler from its inner surface; therefore any mishap to it injures the growth of the antler in the part affected. The animals, therefore, during the time they are “in velvet” are more than usually careful to protect their heads, and are inoffensive even to strangers. When the antlers have ceased to grow, the velvet dries up, and the deer rub their horns against any neighbouring trees and force them into the soft earth until the membrane is quite rubbed off. Up to this time they have lived a kind of solitary existence, but now they go forth in their full vigour, seek out their future mates, and fight any other stags which dare to dispute their ascendancy.

The desire to stock the mountain country of New Zealand with large game, so that the Briton’s delight in going out to kill something might be satisfied, has led to the introduction of no fewer than nine kinds of deer, in addition to other large animals. Of these, four species—fallow deer, red deer, sambur deer, and white-tailed deer—have established themselves in different parts of the country, and are included among the animals to shoot which licenses are now issued. By law they are strictly preserved, but much poaching has always been and still is done. At the same time, it must be remembered that the poaching is chiefly done by two classes of people—namely, by residents in the neighbourhood of the districts where the game abound, and by mere pot-hunters. For the first class it may be said that many farmers, who take no special interest in acclimatization work or in so-called “sport,” who were not consulted in any way on the subject, and who probably object to seeing the undesirable game laws of the Old Country being reintroduced here for the sake of a few wealthy people who are willing to pay a price for the privilege of killing deer, naturally resent the incursions of animals which ignore or break down their fences, harass their stock, and eat their hay and turnips. Therefore some of this destruction of imported game takes the form of reprisals for injury done to crops, fences, and stock. There is practically little or no poaching, such as is characterized by the name in the Mother-country, done on the property of private individuals, and consequently destruction of game in New Zealand is not looked upon as a heinous offence, as were breaches of the iniquitous game laws of Britain in pre-war days. The game in New Zealand is the property either of the State or of the acclimatization societies, and public opinion on the subject of its destruction is lax in comparison with what it is in countries where game is looked upon as something reserved for and sacred to the sporting instincts of a small, self-constituted, and select class. Still, a very fair measure of protection is ensured to the animals, and they have increased in many districts where they have been liberated. It has been recognized, too, that a wealthy class of tourists can be induced to visit the country if, in addition to scenic attractions, there can be added those things which appeal to the sporting instincts of humanity. This has led the Government of the Dominion in recent years to devote some attention to the subject of introducing various additional kinds of big game to those already brought in by the acclimatization societies.

In addition to the four species already mentioned the following kinds of deer have been introduced into this country:—

Sir George Grey liberated a pair of wapiti (Cervus canadensis) in Kawau some time in the “seventies.” The doe died, and the buck had to be killed, as he became dangerous. In 1905 the Tourist Department obtained eighteen of these fine deer, which were designated as “elk,” from America. Ten of these were a present from President Roosevelt to the Government. These animals were liberated at the head of Nancy Sound, on the south-west coast of the South Island, and are now increasing in numbers.

In 1885 the Otago Acclimatization Society received three Japanese deer (Cervus nika) from Mr. J. Bathgate, and they were liberated on the Otekaike Estate, near Oamaru. Five years later they were reported as “doing well and growing into a nice little herd.” In the report for 1892 it is stated that “little or nothing has been heard about these deer,” and nothing has been reported since. Apparently they have all been destroyed.

In 1905 the Tourist Department obtained six of these deer, and liberated them on the Kaimanawa Ranges, near Taupo. I have heard nothing further about them.

In 1905 the Government purchased five black-tailed (or mule) deer (Odocoileus hemionus) in America, and liberated them at Tarawera. In 1915 the Hawke’s Bay Society reported them as increasing.

In 1870 the Auckland Acclimatization Society received three South American deer (probably Cariacus chilensis) from Mr. W. A. Hunt, but there is no further record of them.

The first attempt to introduce moose, or true elk (Alches machlis), was made by the Government in 1900, when fourteen young ones were shipped on board the “Aorangi” at Vancouver. Owing, however, to the rough voyage, only four—two bulls and two cows, nine months old—arrived in New Zealand. They were liberated near Hokitika, but appear to have separated soon, as in 1903 one cow was in one district, another at the gorge of the Hokitika River, while nothing was known of the bulls. In 1913 the last-mentioned cow was “in splendid condition, and as tame as a kitten.” The others seem to have disappeared.

In 1910 the Government obtained ten moose, and these were liberated on the shores of Dusky Sound. Two years later a mining party found traces of both old and young moose, and the latest reports show that the animals are increasing.

In 1867 the Otago Society imported seven axis deer, or chital (Cervus axis), which were liberated in the Goodwood bush, near Palmerston. In 1871 another stag was landed and added to the herd, which at that time numbered about thirty. Ten years later the Inspector reported that he had seen over forty. Then complaints began to come in from the settlers round about that the deer were a nuisance, and their numbers gradually diminished. Gradually they were killed off, and none have been seen thereabouts for the last twenty years.

In 1898 the Wellington Society received a pair of axis deer from the Zoological Society of Calcutta, and placed them on Kapiti Island, in Cook Strait. Four years later they had not increased, and I have not heard of them since. In 1907 the Tourist Department liberated five axis deer at Mount Tongariro, and in 1909 five in Dusky Sound. No reports have as yet been received regarding either of these latest experiments.


                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

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