Himalayan Tahr in New Zealand

About tahr in NZ: Himalayan tahr (Hemitragus jemlahicus) were introduced by the New Zealand Government from a captive herd in England to create a hunting resource, the original 13 animals being released near Mount Cook in 1904 and 1913. Over following years tahr populations spread radially along the axis of the southern alps and today are found from the Waimakariri headwaters to the north to the central Landsborough in the south, and on most of the major lateral ranges. Their preferred habitat is the massive rock bluff systems, adjacent snow tussock basins and the uppermost sub-alpine scrubland band in places where the ridgeline exceeds 2000m.
Tahr numbers were around 30-40,000 at their peak in the early 1970s until helicopter hunting for game-meat purposes and official animal control operations reduced them to about 2500 by the late 1970s.
The Department of Conservation's 1993 "Himalayan Thar Control Plan" now seeks to limit tahr numbers to 10,000 and stop populations spreading. In 2003 numbers were estimated at 8500.
Tahr are gregarious animals; they live in loosely cohesive groups which are sexually segregated during most of the year. The bull tahr is a strikingly handsome animal, and difficult to hunt in an extremely challenging mountain environment. They are highly prized as a trophy animal and sought by local and international hunters alike.
DOC policies towards tahr have often been controversial because their control efforts have often conflicted with that of hunters who view tahr as an easily managed economic and recreational resource. Their preference foropen mountain habitat and the option of aerial hunting makes tahr the most manageable of all New Zealand's game animals.

About NZWT's tahr project: As a scientist for Forest Research Institute Ken Tustin studied tahr in the late 1970s, including 270 days over a two-and-a-half year period observing them from a small hut mid-slope in the Godley Valley. That study focused on seasonal range- and vegetation-use by tahr. The present study looks at social interactive behaviour like courtship, competition and social dominance. Understanding social behaviour of wild animals is a necessary pre-condition of intelligent management, whatever the management purpose: control, sustained yield or recreational/economic benefit.