CIC UK Other Species review

One of the interesting aspects of trophy measuring is the one-off assessments that we do in response to outside requests. In 2013, I was asked by the South African author of an Atlas of Caprinae to see if I could track down a Marco Polo sheep (Ovis ammon polii) head owned initially by Field Marshal Lord Roberts after it was shot on the Afghanistan/Pakistan border in 1895.

Having found the head, I was able to measure it in accordance with current CIC rules and to confirm the original measurement recorded by Rowland Ward. The head, which proved to be in remarkably good condition, is well looked after by its current owner and stands as a reminder of the lengths to which hunters in the past would go to find and pursue the unusual.

Again, this year in the UK a broad spectrum of species was put forward for assessment. As has become the norm, there were seven species, but once again no boar trophy made the lists.

The surprise of the year was the presentation of the largest set of Chinese water deer tusks ever recorded.

Red deer
Fallow
Sika
Muntjac
Chinese water deer
Goat
Boar

Red deer
A total of 22 red deer achieved medal status in 2013. No Scottish reds (Cervus elaphus scoticus) were measured.

See the table below, or click here to download the red deer table.

Fallow
The quality of fallow continues to disappoint – only one head reached gold medal status from a total of 15 that achieved medals.

Do you have a theory as to why fallow in the UK rarely achieve the level of maturity that would produce the quality of heads seen regularly in European lists? Comment below to share your knowledge.

See the table below, or click here to download the fallow table.

Sika
Matching both the number and the overall quality this year were the 16 sika heads awarded a medal.

See the table below, or click here to download the sika table.

Muntjac
Muntjac numbers compare well with other years, with 85 achieveing medal status. The elusive 80-point head is still to appear, but it is clear that Muntjac are holding their own in both popularity and quality.

See the table below, or click here to download the muntjac table.

Chinese water deer
For the first time ever, the UK Evaluation Board was presented with a set of Chinese water deer (CWD) tusks where both measured more than 100mm in length.

See the table below, or click here to download the Chinese water deer table.

Goat
See the table below, or click here to download the goat table.

Boar
2013 was another poor year for boar. Two sets of tusks from the UK were presented for measurement and both fell some way short of what was needed for a medal.

See the table below, or click here to download the boar table.