![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEdZU-Hy9XibZ1cCsyYBJmzkQNKBEeWWxxZLj2FI1FJGE8rSaJd_4elnIASP9Zj31dd-zIZlAdiXK66S6dOr9uwb4EFAQOuSKvN5L5LLlkq9bf4z_q3u_RTt0GpXAGWIL1fVZfYfZWP34/s400/sikaelkbrad.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJtjDGH_zRZKSMLgZfLMMmtCIfmaN9wE8tUlCJKNTfNvIvICfiGkMON6k2p2OBJM4VZjfqLsJpswhj2i65pdPGdurlet2wA2yWMEh-v7lHR-deFPUOnaWO2-qwEwVOsWgQXvBie0f4k6k/s400/sikaelkshane.jpg)
Upon reaching our next ranger lecture I decided to ask questions about what we had just watched. No what this ranger and a ranger at a different location told me I could not verify on the net, but I like what they said, that is there story and I am sticking to it. They informed me that in 1923 the Boy Scouts met there for a gathering, one of the scouts brought a few exotic Sika Elk along with him from Asia and turned them loose. Since then they have multiplied and survived on the island. Today the herd numbers around 200 and multiplies quickly, because of this they are hunted every year on the island to keep the herd at a manageable size and protect the other recourse's.
Now for a few facts about the Sika, they can be found in more than 34 states in the USA. They are native to Japan, Taiwan and eastern Asia. Sika deer are actually more closely related to the elk than they are to white tailed deer. They are smaller than whitetails, with adult males, called stags, typically weighing about 90 pounds and adult females, or hinds, weighing roughly 70 pounds. Coat color ranges from chestnut brown during winter to reddish-olive during summer. Sikas keep their white spots as adults, which are most visible during the summer months, and tend to have proportionally shorter snouts and smaller ears. Unlike whitetailed deer that raise their tails like a flag when alarmed, they have a white rump patch that flares outwards.
Like whitetails, only the males have antlers; however, they are more narrow and erect and resemble miniature elk antlers. Stags rarely have more than three points per antler; typically spikes as yearlings, which develop into four or five points as two year olds, and finally six points at three years. Trophy-class antlers are about 13 to 15 inches in length and are shed between February and April of each year.
I guess that is enough for now, with any luck I will be posting more Elk next week, but not Sika's, some from the Pennsylvania Elk herd.
By the way, I took the first photograph (it features Elk #51) and Shane took the second one.
1 comment:
Great photos. Mabye one day you can give me some pointers on mine.
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