#🇳🇿 Fiordland Wapiti 🇳🇿 [Te Awaroa]

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gusty kelp
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Since the Himalayan Tahr have been backfilled to Te Awaroa, I feel like we just have one thing missing… The Fiordland Wapiti! A hefty, remarkable species of deer which is a hybrid between the fabulous Rocky Mountain Elk and the impeccable Red deer. Both are beautiful and beloved species of deer, if this magnificent animal were to be added into COTW. It would really make the game funner with just a small touch with the Fiordland Wapiti!

The Fiordland Wapiti is a quite distinctive animal, its antlers normally have a cluster at the top with multiple tines if the stag is old or has good genetics. This deer size is between an Elk and a Red deer, it also has a red deer face but having the Elk colours as it even has the white rump. It also has a mane like an Elk bull.

Please consider this EW. z_COTW

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shut beacon
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yes

coral oxide
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Did I hear giant Elk yes plz. Plus it would give me a reason to play TA more

gusty kelp
coral oxide
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I'll admit I hardly play maps out of the US locations & Medved due to my preferences. But I will never deny Elk.

gusty kelp
coral oxide
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Lack of Predators, furbearers, & upland birds limits my interest in alot of the reserves but you add Elk over moose I'm all over it.

gusty kelp
coral oxide
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I'm trying with my reserve, Elk & Wolves are the key focus for the narrative along with a fair balance of game minus waterfowl. Only waterfowl in it are Sandhill Cranes.

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Moose & Red Deer have had the spot light for a long while I think its time Elk get some love they deserve.

gusty kelp
coral oxide
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Thats why I chose Wyoming for my concept. Wyoming has a rather deep history with Elk.

gusty kelp
coral oxide
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Gray wolves were hunted to extinction in Wyoming in 1926. The wolves were eliminated as a result of federal and state efforts to control predators. Soon after Rocky Mountain Elk populations began to grow at a rapid & alarming rate over the following years. Quite literally changing & dissolving habitats in mass herds. This in turn was also affecting local wildlife habitats while also bringing a decline to other populations. Despite all efforts to reduce the elk populations it wasn't until a decision was made to reintroduce wolves. January of 1995 Wolves were reintroduced reducing Elk populations from 17,000 to between 7000-8000 head. This not only stabilized Elk herds but also restored the habitat back to its natural ecology. This also restored additional species populations and further reduced the incline of coyote populations hense bringing back fox populations. Beavers & other aquatic life returned and restored the states natural water ways as well.

coral oxide
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So yea I think Elk deserve a spotlight esp. since we only have 2 reserves with Elk while many have Red Deer & Moose 😢

gusty kelp
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Wapiti [Te Awaroa]

glacial imp
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can we add lions to te pls

gusty kelp
coral oxide
glacial imp
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lions

dim salmon
inland tulip
twin rivet
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Add sambar deer to the regions of sika deer in Te Awaroa.

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manic gyro
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Small population could work well.

coral oxide
# glacial imp lions

Now I'm really confused 🤨 Lions in NZ? Other than a zoo or a protection park I dont recall they have lions. Its Paradise Park were retired Circus lions were imported to from Australia if memory serves me right.

gusty kelp
glacial imp
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unicorns or zebras then?

copper compass
gusty kelp
glacial imp
gusty kelp
coral oxide
# gusty kelp He’s rage baiting

oh I'm not Raging it just confused me is all bc I know several countries have imported animals that are now feral as invasive so its not unheard of so I wanted to confirm but as you said its a joke so never mind.

gusty kelp
glacial imp
gusty kelp
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Odd looking one

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glacial imp
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cute looking one

coral oxide
# gusty kelp Odd looking one

See I love this pattern. Natural fur types & patterns is what we need more of. I love the G1 models but I feel its starting to get out of hand with the colors & in some cases the patterns.

mental barn
glacial imp
grim aurora
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I still like the idea of wapiti on Te Awaroa. I wrote a short post on them last year on a similar recommendation so I’ll just copy and paste it here for visability:

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From Bruce Banwell’s studies they believe that Fiordlands wapiti are almost certainly Rocky Mountain elk though they have a significant amount of admixture with other North American wapiti subspecies from both before their introduction and from farm escapees here in NZ. They are also almost totally crossbred with red deer. From genetic samples taken by the Fiordland Wapiti Foundation the very purest wapiti in the herd had only about 60-70% wapiti and 20-30% red genetics with most wapiti sitting somewhere around 40-50%. Here’s a study from Lincoln university if your interested:

https://researcharchive.lincoln.ac.nz/bitstream/handle/10182/6463/Harvey_BAgrSc(Hons).pdf?sequence=3

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Also they could have some variation between how red or how wapiti they appear. The below picture is a prime example of two Fiordland wapiti bulls, they share a very similar genetic makeup but the bull on the left is much closer in appearance to a red stag while the bull on the right looks more like a wapiti.

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Additional info: Fiordland wapiti are much smaller in body size than purebred North American and Asian wapiti subspecies. Their antlers also differ markedly from the pure bred variety. For example, Fiordland wapiti largely lack the throwback tines that are common with purebred subspecies. Their antlers mostly appear closer to that of a red stags but have the potential to grow much larger in length and diameter.

grim aurora
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While the true wild populations of wapiti are entirely restricted to Fiordland. Closer-to-purebred, domesticated wapiti have been released on private high fence estates on both the North and South Islands.

Wapiti are commonly domesticated in NZ for the venison and velvet markets where they are often crossbred over red hinds to produce larger fawns which increase meat and velvet yields

gusty kelp
grim aurora
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Here’s an additional image of the first wapiti ever shot in NZ (taken by Viv Donald at Lake Katherine in 1923) so you can kinda see the differences they’ve developed over the years.

NZs wapiti are certainly unique and amazing animals. Even when compared to purebred Rockies and roosies in North America.

gusty kelp
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Did Red deer and elk breed in the wild or did teddy breed them?

manic gyro
gusty kelp
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Do they still naturally crossbreed in nz?

grim aurora
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No one can actually find the exact source of the wapiti Theodore Roosevelt first gifted to the NZ government. It is known they were sourced from captive elk in the US which were most likely Rocky Mountain elk with significant Roosevelt elk (and likely other North American subspecies) admixture.

Red deer were already incredibly well established for decades when the first wapiti were released so natural crossbreeding in the wild happened almost immediately.

They do continue to crossbreed in the wild but the Fiordland Wapiti Foundation (FWF) regularly conducts heavy culls on red deer within Fiordland’s wapiti range to avoid diluting the herd as the sheer numbers of red deer in NZ would otherwise quickly replace them.

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Looking at some of the older trophies like in this video you can really notice the decline in throwback tines as the Fiordland wapiti interbred with red deer over the decades.

inland tulip
gusty kelp
idle rivet
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Te Awaroa full of animals now. Increase size maybe?

gusty kelp
idle rivet
# gusty kelp Wdym?

The area is saturated of the animals. The map should get bigger for a new animal.

gusty kelp
twin rivet
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Name: Silk, a hybrid of American Elk (Cervus canadensis x Cervus nippon). Origin of hybridization in Missouri (USA). Trade name “American Silk,” given to the crossbred line started by General Ryals of Missouri in the 1900s and later developed by David Hughes in Texas in the 1990s for venison ranching. While Silk Deer availability may be limited for hunting on some ranches. Source: My book. Photo credit: Texas Hunt Lodge.

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I would like there to be a hybrid between the red stag and the sika deer because both species are present in TA. Also, Silk should be mentioned previously in TA when there is wapiti in TA, and a hybrid between red stag and wapiti mentioned by @grim aurora .

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untold shadow
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As a born and breed Kiwi I think Wapiti could be interesting one of my main issues though is where they'd go on the map because Wapiti IRL are found only in the Fiordland Wapiti Area or the far larger Fiordland National Park and no part of Te Awaroa National Park looks like Fiordland so while Wapiti would be one of my favourite species on the map the map layout bothers me

frank flume
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All for it and split the turkey population with pheasant and NZ is complete 👌🏻

gusty kelp
wheat kiln
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This would be a great addition to it

gusty kelp
gusty kelp
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I’m still pissed that they added Tahr and not Wapiti

untold shadow
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Also what part of the map would they go on exactly? Te Awaroa doesn't look like any part of the map actually fits where Wapiti are found in New Zealand ( Fiordland specifically ) maybe the southwest but even then it'd be weird for Wapiti and Sika Deer to be together

tight latch
untold shadow
twin rivet
twin rivet
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This is the reason why I want Wapiti in Te Awaroa.
Wapiti Herd Management in New Zealand (image). Source: Fiordland Wapiti Foundation (fwf.net.nz) for more interesting information

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humble nexus
gusty kelp
humble nexus
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I think they should just add rocky mountain elk, that's whats found purebred in new Zealand, imported

gusty kelp
humble nexus
# gusty kelp Or Fiordland Wapiti

I think they could rename them into Fiordland wapiti but it would still be the same species and model, like with pumas and mountain lions

gusty kelp
humble nexus
gusty kelp
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Fiordland Wapiti is a hybrid between Red stags and Rocky Mountain Elk, with this hybrid. The Red deer really stands out aswell as the Elk. Fiordland Wapiti is also a bit more smaller in size to the average North American Elk. There’s a lot more to it like some aren’t a hybrid but some are, it’s quite confusing but that’s the best I could do to break it down for you.

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But then again you can still commonly find pure bred Rocky Mountain Elk in NZ

gusty kelp
# gusty kelp Fiordland Wapiti is a hybrid between Red stags and Rocky Mountain Elk, with this...

Also, since Red deer were established incredibly well before the Rocky Mountain Elk arrived, and since both species are very closely related with the Elk’s scientific name being "Cervus canadensis nelsoni" and Red deer being "Cervus elaphus scoticus". When the Elk were first introduced to New Zealand, Red deer and Elk almost immediately started naturally crossbreeding into the amazing, stunningly beautiful Fiordland Wapiti we have today.

Thanks to @grim aurora for this information.

gusty kelp
untold shadow
gusty kelp
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🇳🇿 Fiordland Wapiti 🇳🇿 [Te Awaroa]

twin rivet
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Wapiti = early 19th century: from Shawnee (a Native Northern American people of the Northeastern Woodlands), literally ‘White Rump’.

It is not correct to name “Wapiti” a hybrid species exclusively. A new name for this hybrid is needed. For example, “Silk” is a name for a hybrid between Sika Deer and Wapiti.

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grim aurora
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Another cool way of differentiating the wapiti found in Fiordland from purebred elk, is that they have a a very unique call. I’ve seen it referred to as a bugle-roar as it really does sound like a combination of a wapiti bull’s bugle and a red stags roar.

https://youtube.com/shorts/UB_OQ9VipRw?si=wfRBg4HpovinxyO-

fiery forum
gusty kelp
untold shadow
last sandal
# gusty kelp That is some magnificent stuff right there

I would like to see these added Maybe as a small map that you can access from the Main TA map...

I would suggest keeping the Wapiti name instead of just calling them RME .... They need to be treated as a different species ........

They could also add a mountain range on the small map with more Tahr zones ....

Throw in some additional Red deer heards as well ....

gusty kelp
twin rivet
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Good editing

gusty kelp
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Wdym @twin rivet

twin rivet
gusty kelp
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Wait why would they do that

twin rivet
last sandal
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@twin rivet Absolutely amazing video ... thanks mate

grim aurora
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This is the biggest Fiordland wap head I’ve ever seen personally.

Not my pic sadly lol, they were a group hunting the next block over from my Dad the last time he was in Fiordland.

grim aurora
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This is a bonus wapiti antler I found last year, just across the river from my house.

I’m actually in the North Island but the property across the river used to be a game farm. Most of their wapiti have escaped and crossbred with the reds here so are much like the Fiordland herd now.

This was from a bull I found dead. Looked like he had been fighting pretty hard during the roar and had already lost one antler at the skull, which was probably the cause of death.

gusty kelp
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When I’m older, I really want to go to New Zealand and shoot a Fiordland Wapiti bull. Probably one of my dreams now.

grim aurora
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Usually see a few groups from Aus every year anyway.

gusty kelp
gusty kelp
twin rivet
untold shadow
untold shadow
untold shadow
mental barn
gusty kelp
gusty kelp
gusty kelp
last sandal
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Would absolutely love a small map based on the the Fiordland National Park in NZ .... Of course complete with Wapiti

untold shadow
last sandal
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If its a small map they can make it as small as they need to have it make sense .... And then charge what seems fair for a map that size

last sandal
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The entire Fiordland park is over 7k KM so much too large for even a normal COTW map... So they would only be able to do a small portion 32 KM size ...... they could even donate a dollar or so of the proceeds to the FWF ..... I would buy it just to donate ....

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Heres a new Challenge suggestion .... Go to Fiordland map and ethically harvest or Photograph four Wapiti Level 3 or greater ...

humble nexus
last sandal
humble nexus
# last sandal Who says someone can't do both??

True, I just like to donate when I want to and not involuntary when I buy a product, don't get my wrong I donate money here and there but I don't like to get forced to donate to access a product

gusty kelp
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Fiordland Wapiti bulls

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gusty kelp
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Hey @grim aurora, are Fiordland Wapiti males called stags or bulls? Same goes for females, are they called hinds or cows?

grim aurora
gusty kelp
gusty kelp
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Can you spot him?

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mental barn
gusty kelp
mental barn