Overview
The Tian Shan wapiti is the largest of the Asian wapitis and grows the finest antlers. It is similar to the American wapiti, although somewhat darker in color and with a longer skull. Overall color is dark brownish-gray, with the head, neck, underparts and legs dark brown with a tinge of red. There is a wide, light-colored ring around the eyes and a narrow white border on the upper lip around the nose. The rump patch is very large and bright reddish-cream in color with a dark brown border, and is divided by a blackish-brown stripe that does not reach the root of the tail. The tail is the same color as the rump, and very short. The antlers are massive and similar in form to those of North American wapitis. The best antlers of record had a 60-inch (152.5 cm) beam length, 8-1/2-inch (21.6 cm) beam circumference, 45-1/2 inch (115.6 cm) inside spread, and carried 19 total points (Rowland Ward, 1909).
Taxonomy
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammal
- Order
- Artiodactyla
- Family
- Cervidae
- Genus
- Cervus
- Species
- Cervus canadensis
Habitat
Mountainous forests. Distribution- The Tian Shan mountains of eastern Kyrgyzstan, eastern Kazakhstan and north central Xinjiang, China. The numbers in Xinjiang are estimated to be about 50,000. In addition to the wild populations, there are 4,000-5,000 on deer farms in China.
Diet
This animal both grazes and browses based on seasonal availability.
Behavior
Wapiti are highly adaptive herd animals that thrive in forest habitats. Wapiti will feed in both the morning and then hide out in dark timber to digest their food, conserve energy and remain cool during the heat of the day. During the summer months, wapiti will go high into mountains to take advantage of cooler temperatures. In the winter, they will migrate to lower elevations for shelter from bad weather and for more available food sources. The breeding season begins in early fall, when bulls will separate from each other and start seeking out suitable cows to join their harem. A harem is a bull’s group of suitable cows that he will travel and eventually mate with. Harems can eventually include up to 20 cows during a mating season. To attract cows, bulls will dig out watery marsh-like holes, lay in them and urinate in them. These stinky, murky mud baths are called wallows. The reason they use wallows is to coat themselves with their own sexually pungent odor. By coating themselves in this manner, sexually willing cows can find them from a great distance with their noses. Once a bull has cows in his harem he is very protective of them and will fend off other bulls.
Hunting
Horses are commonly used to cover more distance. Expect extensive horseback riding 8-10 hours a day and considerable walking. Some riding experience is a must. These animals are generally located on open slopes of mountains at 8,000-8,500 ft (2,438-2,591 m). Once the desired animal is spotted, a stalk is conducted on foot.
Conservation Status
Listed as Least Concern by IUCN. However this classification refers to the species as a whole, not the Tian Shan wapiti specifically. Population estimates for this subspecies are not well-defined.