Sambar Browse Plants - Logging Coupes

An ADA East Gippsland Branch hunting trip in early May highlighted just how important disturbance in the forest is for sambar; whether due to wildfire, cyclonic winds or logging – all of which open up the forest canopy, reduce or eliminate the understory and set the scene for a flush of new growth that provides ideal feeding conditions for the deer.

Saturday morning early saw a couple of us checking out a clear-felled logging coupe of 100 or so hectares for evidence of deer. It had been logged three or four seasons before, windrowed and then burnt to provide ideal conditions for the regrowth of fire-adapted native species including eucalypts. Walking through the coupe was a battle, as the regrowth was already over two metres tall and very dense with plenty of burnt logs and blackberries to also slow progress. Although there was some sambar sign present, winkling one out to get a shot was not really a proposition. We quickly moved on.

Just down the road was a more recently logged coupe that had probably been burnt 12 months before. Superficially, it was a scene of total devastation, charred trees, stumps and logs from the fire and churned up red earth and granite boulders left by mechanical monsters. However, a tinge of bright green regrowth was evident across the coupe, made up of a dense regrowth of millions of native trees and shrubs – some readily identified as eucalypts, wattles, dogwood, hazel, blanket-leaf, speedwell, kangaroo apple, everlastings and then heaps of ground-cover species, all unknown. More interesting from a hunter’s perspective was the deer sign – it was everywhere: tracks, antler thrashing, droppings and evidence of browsing.

It was obvious that the sambar would only be visiting the coupe between dusk and dawn and were spending their days in the safety of the surrounding dense regrowth forest. The decision was made to return later that afternoon to find vantage points and wait for the deer to emerge at last light. However, a strong, blustery and very cold wind made sitting extremely uncomfortable and unrewarding and although we sat until dark no deer were seen. Despite this experience, we left convinced that a return visit was warranted and would be productive – but preferably on a warm, still evening or early morning.

Because of the excellent feed found in logging coupes, they are prime sites to ambush sambar out feeding as they provide an absolute smorgasbord of succulent new growth. However, this productive phase probably only lasts a year, or two at most, as the rapid growth of over-storey eucalypts and wattles quickly shades out the slower growing and more palatable species (and hides the deer from prying human eyes too). Production forests tend to be logged in sequence over the years so as one coupe loses its attraction for the deer, other nearby more recently logged coupes will likely replace them and the deer will move to where the best feed is.

Hunting logging coupes or their fringes has been recognised as a great way to get a sambar for many years, whether by stalking or with the help of hounds. The trick is to find the ones that are ‘just right’ – not too recently logged with minimal feed, and not so old that the regrowth is tall and rank, but somewhere in between - highly productive and full of succulent new growth.

If you are new to sambar hunting and looking for somewhere to start, an hour spent on Google Earth is a great way to explore a lot of Victoria’s sambar country and turn up a host of prospects that can then be checked out with a little bit of ground-level exploring. As logging coupes need to be accessible to trucks, a car should be fine to get to them, provided access is not blocked by a seasonal gate closure.