Source: NZ Department of Conservation
If you spend time hunting or naturing in the bush, you’ll know this feeling. Some forests are thick with regeneration, others feel strangely empty at ground level.
That difference is often due to what deer and goats choose to eat first.
Introduced wild animals don’t browse evenly across the forest. They’re selective. When they have options, they go straight for their favourites. Over time, that selective feeding reshapes forests in ways you can see if you know what to look for.
Think of it like an ice-cream shop. When the good stuff keeps getting eaten, it disappears from the menu.
Read on to learn about ten common “forest ice-cream flavours”, the plants deer and goats eat first, those hanging on, and what’s left when the favourites are gone.
Gone First: the forest ice cream
The flavours wild deer and goats go for every time.
These plants are highly preferred by deer and goats. Even when animal numbers aren’t especially high, seedlings are eaten, regrowth is stopped, and whole species can disappear from the understory.
If you’re not seeing these plants at knee height, browsing pressure is likely high.
Hunter or naturer tip: If you only see mature plants or epiphytes above browse height and no seedlings, regeneration has already stalled.
Broadleaf pāpāuma (Griselinia littoralis)
Soft-leaved and nutrient rich, broadleaf is a top pick for deer and goats. It’s an important early regeneration species, forming mid-height canopy that shelters slower-growing trees like rimu. Its berries feed kererū, tui, and bellbirds, and its leaf litter supports native snails and soil life.
- Kōtukutuku tree fuchsia (Fuschsia excorticata)
Deer and goats (and possums) have a very high preference for this plant. Even low numbers of browsing wild animals like deer and goats can prevent regeneration. This fast-growing species is an important coloniser of disturbed ground and windfall gaps. Its flowers are important to nectar feeders and fruit important to a wide range of birds.
- Karamū (Coprosma robusta)
Fast growing and highly palatable, karamū can be wiped out completely by browsing. It is a plant that regenerates quickly after disturbance, stabilises slopes, breaks rainfall under the canopy, and provides food and habitat for insects and birds that help spread seed. Its absence often signals long-term pressure from deer or goats.
- Makomako wineberry (Aristotelia serrata)
Another classic regeneration plant that deer and goats actively seek out. Makomako is often found on river edges or old slip sites. Its soft leaves break down quickly and return nutrients to the soil to feed other plants, while the wine-red berries feed birds and other animals, but monitoring shows it has some of the steepest declines where browsing pressure stays high.
Hanging on: what you might still see when numbers are lower
Still on the menu, but only just
These species are still preferred by deer and goats, but they can survive where animal numbers are moderate or declining. Their presence often tells you browsing pressure has eased, at least a little.
Hunter or naturer tip: Compare stream sides and ridgelines. Differences can be seen even over short distances.
- Tāwheowheo quintinia (Quintinia serrata)
A tall forest tree that usually forms part of the mid- to upper-canopy in mature forests. The small white flowers are important for honey production. Tāwheowheo seedlings and saplings are palatable to deer and goats, meaning regeneration is often suppressed where browsing pressure remains moderate to high. Because adults can persist for decades, forests may still look “intact” while the next generation is missing. Seeing seedlings coming back is a good sign that pressure has eased long enough for recovery to begin.
- Stinkwood (Coprosma foetidissima)
Moderately browsed by deer and goats, this plant is named for its foul-smelling leaves. It can persist where animal numbers are lower, often resprouting after browsing pressure eases. It plays an important role in forest understoreys, providing dense cover and fruit for birds. If adult plants are present but seedlings and saplings are absent or heavily browsed, it signals that browsing pressure is still limiting regeneration.
- Putaputawētā marble leaf (Carpodetus serratus)
Moderately browsed, especially where goat numbers are higher. It provides habitat for wētā and fruit for birds such as kōkako. Heavy browsing of seedlings, even when adult trees remain, is a warning sign that pressure is increasing again.
Rarely eaten…. Yuck (Avoided) plants
What’s left when the favourites are gone (a bit like rum and raisin ice-cream, or anything with raisins for that matter)
Another indicator of deer browse is the abundance of plants deer don’t like. Deer are just like us. They have their ice cream plants, but they also have their yuck plants that they avoid.
When browse pressure is high, we tend to see more yuck plants. Either because they are the only ones left, or they have increased in number to occupy the vacant places left by the browsed-out ice cream plants.
Three common “yuck” plants you often see when there are plenty of goats and deer around are:
- Mingimingi (Coprosma propinqua var. propinqua)
Mingimingi is a common name used for several different native shrubs in New Zealand, including species of Coprosma and Leucopogon. In this context, mingimingi refers specifically to Coprosma propinqua, a small‑leaved shrub common at forest margins, in regenerating scrub, and within open forest understory.
Coprosma propinqua is generally low-preference for browsing animals, though it can be nibbled when animal numbers are very high or food is scarce. It produces heavy fruit crops that are eaten by birds such as kererū and provides shelter for lizards and large insects.
When Coprosma propinqua dominates large areas of understory, it often indicates that more palatable regeneration species have already been removed.
- Horopito Pepperwood (Pseudowintera colorata)
Horopito is a small tree with pretty, red-spotted leaves. It can grow in the shade and is common in the forest understory at mid-high altitudes. Strongly avoided by deer and goats due to its pungent, peppery leaves, which contain chemical compounds that deter browsing. As a result, it often becomes very common in heavily browsed forests. While horopito is an important native species, providing habitat and food for insects, its dominance can signal a simplified understory where more palatable species are missing.
- Piupiu Crown Fern (Lomaria discolor)
Generally avoided, it has rough, leathery leaves and tolerates shade and browsing pressure well and can form dense carpets on the forest floor. While it stabilises soil and provides some habitat, dense fern cover can suppress tree seedling establishment. Forests dominated by crown fern often reflect long-term browsing pressure that has removed competing regeneration species.
While these species provide some habitat and food for some species, on their own they do not always support a healthy and diverse understorey needed to support many of our native species.
Imagine going to the supermarket and finding half your daily staples missing or having heaps of fruit one month and nothing the next. You could maybe survive but not thrive.
Why this matters
The plants wild deer and goats prefer are often the same plants forests rely on to recover after slips, windfall, or disturbance. They grow fast, stabilise soil, recycle nutrients, and feed wildlife.
When these “ice-cream” plants disappear:
- Forest regeneration changes to fewer, different species
- Slopes become more vulnerable to erosion
- Soils dry out, increasing runoff
- Food for birds and insects declines
- Forest structure becomes simpler and less resilient
For hunters and other naturers, these plants are clues. Seeing what’s missing can tell you as much as seeing animals themselves.
What’s being done to protect forest “ice cream”
Many people and organisations help manage wild animals in New Zealand. Our role is to prioritise management effort where it will make the biggest difference for nature, and work with others including iwi, recreational and commercial hunters, and community groups to increase overall effectiveness.
We focus our intensive wild animal management on around 1.4 million hectares of high‑priority public conservation land, where ecosystems are most at risk and biodiversity values are highest. This includes around 1.2 million hectares of priority sites where the aim is to reduce browsing pressure from wild goats.
New Zealand needs to use different tools in different places to manage browsing pressure depending on the values at stake, terrain, and access. These include:
- Targeted management operations – trained teams targeting specific populations in specific areas
- Monitoring and exclosures – to track recovery and guide decisions
- Management hunts – community-led management hunting projects that contribute to the overall effort to manage animals
- Recreational and commercial hunting – as part of wider management and a contribution to reducing numbers
No single tool will work everywhere. Long‑term forest recovery depends on using the right mix of tools, applied in the right places, and supported by people who hunt, work, and care for these landscapes.
Next time you’re out hunting or naturing
Look down as well as ahead.
- What’s growing at knee height?
- What’s missing completely?
- What seems to be everywhere?
Those patterns tell the story of browsing pressure in the places you hunt or nature. They also help explain why managing wild animal numbers matters, and why different tools are used in different places to protect forest health.
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Original source: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/05/27/forest-ice-cream-what-deer-and-goats-eat-first/