Chamois in New Zealand
For more information e-mail Steuart of NZ Hunting Info Ltd
Refer my new book "Chamois: A New Zealand Hunter's Handbook"
or to the article titled "Beginners Guide to Chamois Hunting"
This is the most beautiful game animal to be found in New Zealand. Chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra) arrived in New Zealand in 1907 as a gift from the Austrian Emperor, Franz Joseph. The first surviving releases were made in the Mt Cook region and these animals gradually spread over much of the South Island. Today they remain widely dispersed but are not evenly distributed. see map
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We think of chamois as alpine animals, but on the West Coast side of the Southern Alps there are some areas where they are found in the forests almost to sea level.Chamois are not as gregarious as tahr and occur in small groups of up to a maximum of about ten animals.
Like tahr, they are absent from the North Island. The body weight of New Zealand populations is about 20% less than that of European chamois, suggesting that food supplies may be restricted here. However, both the male and females can have trophy length horns that match the best in the world.
Chamois have not recently been hunted commercially in New Zealand and there are no current control programs in operation. So they are probably at the best numbers they have been for a long time.
However, helicopters are being used to live capture trophy bucks on public land for sale to game parks. In addition, some guiding operations are using helicopters to locate trophy bucks for clients to shoot. Consequently, the demographics of wild chamois populations have been interfered with.
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On public land,the hunting of chamois requires a high level of fitness. The few New Zealand roads that enter the mountainous regions remain at river level. Therefore to reach chamois habitat, a climb of at least 500m us needed.
The buck in this photo was shot on scree slopes at an altitude of about 1800m. A climb of well over a 1000m was required. The unstable nature of these slopes is very typical of much of the country in which chamois are found.
Of chamois behaviours, one of the the most important to hunters is the fact that they are most active in the morning and evening. So for best results the hunter should ideally be in chamois country early and late in the day. In the middle of the day chamois rest up on promontories. Here they are less conspicuous and are more able to detect an intruder. The challenge for a hunter is to be in a good position early or late in the day even if based at a low altitude camp. This means starting before or at daybreak and possibly coming off the mountains as dark approaches.
There are big tracts of public land available for chamois hunting. But finding and shooting a chamois on this land is much more difficult than is the case in Europe. The animals here are exposed to unrestricted hunting and consequently are very wary.
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Local hunters may have consistent success but visitors need to realise that chamois hunting in New Zealand on public land is a significant challenge. An additional problem is that, with no specific monitoring of hunter activity, you can't be sure that others aren't hunting in your area. DOC permits provide no information about who else has a permit or where others are planning to hunt. Often the only clue that there may be a hunter in your area, is an empty car parked by the road.
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Best NZ Chamois Head
Douglas Score 32 1/8.
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For more information e-mail Steuart of NZ Hunting Info Ltd
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