Identification

As with any species of deer there will always be a lot of variation of the phenotype. The only real way to know the genetic background of deer is through tissue sampling. We send our tissue samples to Invermay, N.Z. for analysis.

Compared to Red deer they are more rounded and appear slightly larger.

Dybowski sika deer coats will vary with the season. The summer coat is quite spectacular. In the summer they are reddish-brown with white spots. In winter the spots mainly disappear and a thicker coat which is darker/greyish-brown is common. The stags develop a thicker, shaggy mane in the winter. Both sexes have a white rump patch bordered in black.

The typical form of a sika antler is smaller than red deer and has eight points. The brow tine slopes outwards and upwards. The trez tine is higher up the beam than reds and smaller than the brow tine. There is an inner-top and an outer-top tine which tend to obscure each other from the side view. The outer-top tine is a lot longer. The Douglas score of a good stag would be over 200 points.

Any info?

Any info?