Red Deer,Red Stag
 

I have been researching the Red deer and read that it is very geneticaly related to the now believed extinct, eastern Elk.

I have been wondering why it has not been introduced to the eastern states.
I know all about exotic competion with native species etc. but many of those have been introduced and are pretty well thought of and accepted.
some are The Russian wild boar (in WV)
the ring neck, the Brown and Rainbow trout.
The Rocky Mt. ElK in Pa. Mich,Ken. Tenn.
Do any of you know of a wild free ranging population of Red Deer in the US ?

RE: Red Deer,Red Stag
 

My uncle Raises Red Stage

RE: Red Deer,Red Stag
 

I was under the impression that PA was never down to zero elk!

RE: Red Deer,Red Stag
 

THey are, but the rocky mountain elk is an even closer relative than the stag.

RE: Red Deer,Red Stag
 

wild hogs are not well accepted anywhere I know of after they get established, really hard on the enviorment...but alas they are good eating!

RE: Red Deer,Red Stag
 

I realize that the RM Elk is closer related to the Eastern elk than red stag, but the eastern elk was somewhat amaller than the RM elk.
The Elk in Pa were introduced, I believe in the late 1800s from rocky mt. stock.
The origional eastern elk is believed to be extinct.

With the lack of large remote areas in many states, it seems that the smaller Red Deer would be more practical than the larger elk.
I have watched several hunting programs of red deer hunting in New Zealand where they are truely wild and free ranging and they are magnificent animals.

Again I was just curious to know if they were ever introduced into the wild anywhere in the US, I realize that they are commonly farm raised,surely over the years some have escaped or were released into the wild in places like Texas Etc.
that established themselves as free ranging animals.

RE: Red Deer,Red Stag
 

Well if smaller elk is what you are after the Tule elk of California are closer relatives and in no danger of extinction. I think the biggest one ever shot weighed 809 lbs.

RE: Red Deer,Red Stag
 

Actually the Tule Elk antlers resemble the red stags antlers more so than they do the RM elks.
I believe the Tule are somewhat a swamp dwelling elk acustomed to warmer climates and may not be suitable for the mountainous terrain and cold weather of WV.
I also believe that if a state adopted a Red Stag program and established a huntable population,that the demand for tags would be overwhelming.
It would become the Red Stag hunting capitol of North America,Generating millions of dollars for that states Dept. of Natural resources.

RE: Red Deer,Red Stag
 

Actually the Tule Elk antlers resemble the red stags antlers more so than they do the RM elks.
I believe the Tule are somewhat a swamp dwelling elk acustomed to warmer climates and may not be suitable for the mountainous terrain and cold weather of WV.
I also believe that if a state adopted a Red Stag program and established a huntable population,that the demand for tags would be overwhelming.
It would become the Red Stag hunting capitol of North America,Generating millions of dollars for that states Dept. of Natural resources.

RE: Red Deer,Red Stag
 

While it is true some tule herds live in warm moist areas of the state others do not. One could hardly caracterize the Owens Valley as a swamp, but there has been a herd there for many years. If they can thrive living between two 14,000 ft high mountain ranges they can certainly survive a WV winter. Besides, I thought we were talking about Pennsylvania.

RE: Red Deer,Red Stag
 

I don't believe the moving or introduction of ANY exotics is a good thing. They pretty well always upset things in their new home.

Robin

RE: Red Deer,Red Stag
 

If you introduced the Red Stag into the US, then what reason would there be to travel to Europe, Patagnoia or New Zealand?

While I know it may sound cool to ship the animals to you .. there is a lot to be said for travelling to where these animals live. Any person who has travelled outside the US to hunt will tell you the trip itself was at least half the adventure. I'd hate to see our elk, deer and moose having to fight against a new competitor for land use.

RE: Red Deer,Red Stag
 

I just watched a program on the oln about red stag hunting in new Zealand.
They said geneticaly the red stag and the elk are identical.
They think that the north American elk originated from red stag crossing the land bridge during the ice age.

The Roosevelt elk have more characteristics of the red stag than any other sub species.
The bulls often have a side point beside the royal which is called a crown.

According to the biologist elk are a sub species of the red stag.
The asian elk are also a sub species of the red stag.

So it seems that we have had the Red Stag in North America all along and did not realize it until recently.

RE: Red Deer,Red Stag
 

Tahr and Chamois, would take me to NZ, I don't think anything could get me back to Europe. I think I might go to Patagonia anyway.. ;)

RE: Red Deer,Red Stag
 

OK say you do finally get a stable herd of red stag. The state that does it sure isn't going to make millions. Just look here in Pa. We have a decent herd of elk but hardly any tags are given out. Yeah, you can pay 10 bucks for a chance to get drawn but with so few being actually sold they really don't make any money. They still have to pay to study amd monitor the herd so I doubt very much that any state would make millions on red stag.

RE: Red Deer,Red Stag
 

From what I understand the Red Deer originally migrated here thousands of years ago across the land bridge and evolved into Elk.

I edited this post after some thought..I think these biologists are off track. Elk like we know them exist in Mongolia and Siberia why couldn't they have crossed over in lieu of Red Deer?l

RE: Red Deer,Red Stag
 

Well.... from what I can determine you are both correct.
The North American Wapiti Originated as a sub species from the Red Stag due to climate differences,geography,etc.
They may well have made the change in Siberia and then migrated into North America.

The subtle climate and geographical differences in the lower 48 resulted in several sub species.

RE: Red Deer,Red Stag
 

I was watching an old hunting show today on TV and they were saying that the Pronhorn is the only real Native big game animal in the u.S. The Moose came from Siberia and the deer and elk came from Europe. Even the Bison was not native here. A very young Paul Harvey was the narrator. It was filmed fifty years ago. I don't remember the original film but I do remember 50 years ago quite well.:D Most of the time that is.;)