Wapiti Cervus canadensis

Footprints and Tracks

Hooves

Like all other species of deer, wapiti have cloven hooves, meaning each hoof is divided into two parts called toes or cleaves. The hoof of a pure-bred wapiti is larger than that of a red deer but smaller than that of cattle, and the toes are less pointed than in red deer. Wapiti hoof prints often look more like cattle prints than red deer prints but lack the large gap between the two toes that is obvious in cattle. Due to hybridisation between red deer and wapiti in Fiordland, the hoof prints may be hard to assign to a particular species as hoof shapes can vary and hoof sizes overlap.

Can be confused with:

Pure wapiti make larger footprints than any species of deer found in New Zealand. However, in New Zealand, particularly Fiordland, wapiti have hybridised with red deer. Consequently, it will be difficult to reliably differentiate wapiti hoof prints from those of red deer in most situations. Even if the print is characteristic of wapiti and subsequent identification of the animal showed it to be ‘wapiti-like’, genetic analysis may show the animal is primarily red deer. A print of a farm-escaped wapiti could potentially be confused with young cattle hoof footprints. They are unlikely to be confused with goat, sheep, or pig footprints because the ranges of these species do not overlap with wapiti except where there are farm-escapees and the prints of these species are much smaller than wapiti.

Trails and Runs

Like other deer, wapiti repeatedly use the same tracks and trails through the forest and up and down bluffs, so these routes can become well worn. If trails are recently used, fresh droppings will be seen along them and you may find hoof prints in damp soil. Some of the established tramping tracks in Fiordland are based on established deer trails, as the deer had already worked out the best way through rugged gorges and steep terrain. When tramping off-track you may also find yourself following deer trails. Wapiti are a tall species, so their trails may be relatively large and clear of vegetation compared with smaller ungulate species.

Can be confused with:

Wapiti trails can be confused with the trails of other deer species, especially those of red deer.

Wallows

Wapiti bulls form wet wallow holes during the few months before the rut (the breeding season). They roll around in these wallows and cover themselves with mud. Like red deer, they may repeatedly defecate and urinate in the wallow and use this mixture as a scent for attracting females.

Can be confused with:

Other species of deer and pigs also make use of wallows.

Vegetation Damage

Understorey (less than 3m)

Fiordland wapiti feed on a wide variety of valley floor vegetation including trees, shrubs, lianes, trees, ferns, sedges and grasses. They will also feed on lichens, mosses and bark. In montane to low alpine areas just above treeline, they feed on snowgrass and a range of herbaceous and woody shrubland vegetation.

Dietary studies have revealed that wapiti favour broadleaf (Griselinia littoralis), kamahi (Weinmannia racemosa), sedges and lancewood (Pseudopanax crassifolius) where these species are present. The preference for eating particular plant species is known as selective browsing. Over time, this selective browsing can lead to the removal of these species from the forest, changing vegetation composition and leading to an increase in unpalatable ‘browse resistant’ species. Wapiti can reach higher branches than red deer can. Usually plants browsed by wapiti have a ragged or torn look. If there is limited pressure from helicopter hunters, wapiti will spend much of their time feeding on grasses and tussocks above treeline.

Can be confused with:

Wapiti browse and the effects it has on the condition and composition of the understorey can be confused with browse by other deer species, sheep, cows and goats.

Bark

Just before the rut (breeding season) in spring, male wapiti (bulls) will rub their antlers on bark or thrash them around in shrubs to help remove the dried velvet on the outside of their hardened antlers. This behaviour will often rub bark off a tree. Wapiti, like red deer, bite the bark off trees. It is not known why deer do this but it could be related to territorial marking. Both the biting and bark rubbing can kill individual trees, particularly if the tree is ring barked by the damage.

Can be confused with:

Bark rubbing or biting by wapiti can be mistaken for bark rubbing or biting by other species of deer, particularly red deer; or by goats; or tusking or possibly hide-rubbing by pigs. The height of the rubbing might help distinguish which species is responsible. Bite marks and antler rubbing will often leave characteristic marks, whereas hide-rubbing by pigs will not.

Plant leaves

Plants browsed by wapiti have a ragged or torn look and leaves may also have been bitten in half.

Can be confused with:

Wapiti browse is difficult to distinguish from other species of deer, and from goats, sheep or cows. Often the best way of determining which species has been browsing leaves in an area is through a process of elimination i.e. by determining which species inhabit the area, and looking for footprints and droppings.

Kill Sign

Kill sign is not applicable because wapiti are herbivores (eat plants only).

Other Clues

Distribution

In New Zealand, the wapiti is mainly found in northern Fiordland with its northern limit marked by a line between Sutherland Sound and Worsley Arm of Lake Te Anau and its southern limit marked by a line connecting Charles Sound and the Doon Valley. It is officially known as the Wapiti Area. Wapiti periodically escape from farms and these animals can exist as feral individuals or groups unless recovered by the farmer or shot.

Can be confused with:

All wapiti in the wapiti area are wapiti–red deer hybrids. Many escapees are also hybrids. These animals will usually have characteristics (especially size and colouration) that are intermediate of red deer and wapiti.

Smell

Wapiti have a distinctive musky smell that can be strong-smelling to humans when the animals are wet. Bulls also create a distinctive odour during the rut by urinating on themselves and wallowing in damp hollows containing faeces and urine.

Can be confused with:

The smell of wapiti can be confused with the smell of other deer species – especially red deer because wapiti and red deer cross-breed.

Sound

Wapiti make three types of sounds as follows: bleating of calves; bark of the female (cow); and rutting call of the bulls during the period of rut. The rutting call is a high-pitched, whistle-like bugle, rather than the red deer’s roar. The bugle or rut is when the bulls are most vocal, calling to attract the attention of cows. The bugle lasts from mid-March to late April.

Can be confused with:

Wapiti calf and cow calls could be confused with the calls of other deer species. A bugle is quite distinctive and should not be easily confused.

Body covering

Sometimes deer leave hair where they have been rubbing against a tree and on the ground in bedding areas. Pure-bred wapiti hair is coloured in various shades of fawn.

Can be confused with:

The fur of other deer species, especially red deer with which they have hybridised. There are also seasonal differences in the colour of coats.

Eye shine

When shining a torch at New Zealand wapiti eyes the eye shine can be a silver blue colour, but can also be dull green, yellow or white. The exact colour can depend on the brightness and angle of the light being shone.

Can be confused with:

Many deer species have silver coloured eye shine.