UNGULATA--DEER.
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.