sika deer

Hi folks,
Just was wondering about the sika deer I have from a hunt I went on in the early 90's At White Oak hunting preserve in Ohio. I have seen several pics of sika deer since then and have never seen one that resembles mine. I know there are several subspecies. Is there a way I can find out wich subspecies it is?
Thank you, Mason

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Size and color

I have hunted on ranches that have had all 3. If yours is small with small horns and is solid to dark brown with no spots it is probably a Japanese Sika. If it is large (175 - 200 # ), solid brown, no spots, horns from 24-28 inchs it is probably a Formosan or something sounding like that. If it is large, Brown with some spots, it could be a Manchurian.

If your Sika has longer than 28 " horns it probably is not full blooded Sika and has a little Elk in it.

The main problem wit identifying Sika are that they all cross breed. They will even breed with Elk and Red Stag.

I Score for the Records of Exotics and any Sika over 28 or 30 inchs Falls into the Sika Grande catagory.

little stalkier then a whitetail

Thanks for the reply Rob,
He's a medium brown and under belly and rump is kind of a fox squirrel color. hes is a 3 by 3 about 16 inches tall and 12 inches wide but pretty heavy compared too the Japanese sika and hair is much lighter. around his eyes are even that fox squirrel shade.

Thirteen Subspecies

There are thirteen recognized subspecies of sika. The three largest are the Dybowski, Manchurian and the Formosan and the smallest are the five subspecies of the Japanese. You didn't say how large an animal your's was, even then it would be pretty hard to distinguish it for sure. almost all the sika in the U.S. are the result of some crossing between the subspecies. The Formosan is the most spotted of the larger sub sp. and the Dybowski and Manchurian the least. Generally speaking the farther north the origin of the sika the darker and less spotted it will be. The natural range of the sika runs from Siberia in the north all the way down east asia to central Viet Nam.

For more information, try to find a copy of "Encyclopedia of Deer" by G.Kenneth Whitehead.