The stags had good heads.
I estimated both around
the 30 inch mark.”
The stags had good heads. I
estimated both to be around the 30
inch (76 cm) mark. One had
amassed a pile of vegetation on his
antlers in a typical rusa dominance
display. But it seemed he had failed
to impress. While the other stag
drifted away with a couple of
hinds, the challenger with his rack
full of grass and weeds was left
facing me on his own. He was quite
safe. I had other issues to deal with
at the time. He was good for a
photo, but he gave me something to
think about as I drove away.6 0 | SPORTING SHOOTER _ MAY 2018
DEER
HUNTING1
2
the smaller kangaroos and
wallabies and compensated for the
disappearance of the megafauna.
When Europeans arrived Australia
was comprised of ecosystems which
had been shaped and managed for
millennia by the use of fire. It also
lacked the complete suite of large,
medium and small fauna that
existed on other continents.
The new European arrivals were
keen to continue their hunting
traditions and were quick to
introduce more familiar animals to
redress what they saw as the
paucity of native game. Deer were
an obvious choice. Not all the
experiments succeeded but those
deer species which could adapt to
the new environment and were
protected from early hunting
pressure went on to establish
breeding populations. With the
larger species – red, sambar and
rusa – this should not have been
surprising. These species browsed
similar vegetation to the kangaroos
and wallabies that they shared their
new environment with but, as
physically larger animals, the bigger
deer with their larger muzzles wereDeer are top trophy animals in
Australia but it was not always that
way. Until geologically recent
times, Australia had a full
complement of megafauna – both
grazers and large carnivores. The
skill and courage required to take
those animals, and the meat and
other resources they provided,
would surely have conferred
considerable prestige on the
successful hunter.
Some palaeontologists argue that
changing climate conditions were
responsible for the demise of the
megafauna. But others have
pointed to the arrival of the first
human hunters. Indeed, on every
continent, wherever humans went,
many large species (and quite a few
smaller ones) quickly went extinct.
No species over 100 kilograms
survived the mass extinction. The
survivors were mostly species that
had depended on the megafauna to
open up grazing for them. The new
human arrivals were using fire to
encourage fresh growth and
improve grazing for the animals
they hunted. Whether by accident
or design, this strategy advantaged1
A rusa stag
coming down
to the dam in the
af ternoon. The
rusa could easily
have been Australia’s
native deer.
2
Rusa are
thriving in inland
areas. This group
has two hinds and
three younger
animals.
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