Tahr Hunting
Hunting Tahr in the South Island of New Zealand
The tahr or Himalayan mountain goat has made the central Southern Alps its home since being introduced from and English parkland herd between 1904 and 1909. Tahr were truly made for this environment - the specially adapted hoof structure enables the tahr to cross sheer rock bluffs with ease. Despite it suitability for the environment the tahr has been slow to colonise other areas and still frequent a relatively small area of the central Southern Alps.
Renowned for their strength and stamina the bull tahr is a challenging trophy to hunt. Large bulls reach 300 lbs in weight and are immensely powerful. As a consequence tahr a difficult to put down and we recommend 7 mm Rem. Mag. or .300 Win. Mag. as good all round calibres.
Description
A trophy bull tahr will have horns of 12 inches or more in length. The impressive mane and long body hair are as much a trophy as the horns. For this reason it is advisable to hunt during the winter months (April – October) when the coat is at its best. If there is one trophy that deserves a full body mount it is the magnificent bull tahr!
Behaviour
Adult bull tahr tend to spend most of the year in herds away from the females and immature animals. The herds come together for the rut in May and June before the bulls again head for the higher ground.
Hunts are carried out using spot and stalk techniques glassing animals from a distance before stalking in on foot. Depending on the hunting block and client preference access can be by 4WD or helicopter.
If you would like to hunt tahr in New Zealand, please contact us by email or call Steve on +64-21-888-669.