New Zealand Safaris
Arapawa Ram Hunting
A rare and attractive trophy
Once plentiful, but lost to overhunting elsewhere, New Zealand is now one of the only places left where you can hunt this majestic animal.
Most Recent Trophies
A Wild Sheep Unique to New Zealand
The Arapawa Ram is the descendant of a flock of domesticated sheep introduced to Arapawa Island over 200 years ago as a food source for whalers. They are a wild, hardy sheep, totally unique to the country and a great addition to your New Zealand guided hunting trip.
They reverted to survival characteristics and evolved extensively into this unique breed on the small Arapawa Island in the Marlborough Sounds — hence their name. They are usually dark brown and black in colour with white markings. A mature ram will typically possess 1.5 to 2 curls on either side, which makes our rams some of the largest-horned in the industry. The classic Arapawa trophy has an impressive set of double-curled horns, dark brown or black wool and a white blaze down its nose. The rams inhabit steep hill country, are hard-running, and make for a trophy well worth the effort.
Hunting the Arapawa Ram
Weighing in at around 200 lb, their wool grows long and matted, giving them a distinctive appearance. Hunting is spot-and-stalk with shots from 30–200 yards — ideal for bow hunting — and guides judge them on mass of horn and number of curls. The ram makes an attractive trophy and a perfect way to round out a big game hunt.
Hunting the Arapawa Ram — A Few Things to Know
Their most common colouring is all black, with a depth of blackness that is particularly striking in the lambs, but Arapawas may have white points and, on rare occasions, be pure white. The most strikingly coloured are spotted with white over the whole body — often referred to as ‘cocktail’ Arapawas.
The ram makes an attractive trophy and a perfect way to end a big game hunt. Many of our hunters spot the animals while out stalking their stag and decide to take one in the last days of their hunt. A great way to mount your trophy sheep is either a shoulder mount, or to have the taxidermist turn him into a full-body rug and European-mount the skull on the horns.