The Rusa Deer (Cervus Timoriensis) is another species that originated from South East Asia and can be found in New Zealand’s North Island, Australia and New Caledonia.

Similar in size to a Red Deer the Rusa sports a 3x3 (6-point) rack. One unusual feature of the animal is its particularly coarse hair, well suited to protect its skin in the dense scrub and bush areas it chooses to inhabit. Opportunities to bag a Sika stag often occur when they emerge from the shelter of dense cover to graze the bush edges. On dark they frequently move into more open areas to continue browsing.

The Rusa’s call is a bellow with a high-pitched squeal at the end. During the ‘Rut’ in July and August, the stags are very aggressive and are known to fight to the death to keep other stags away from their hinds. Hunts for this exciting deer are available from March, when they are in velvet, right through the ‘Rut’ until December. The Rusa we hunt in New Zealand are on our own exclusive private Game Estate, while the hunts we outfit in New Caledonia are free range when we hunt from late July-Sept.