Mule Deer

Odocoileus hemionus

Population, Conservation Status, Threats:

Like many American game animals, mule deer faced population decline due to habitat loss and overhunting during the 1800s, but populations appear to have bounced back since then, and are generally considered to be steady. The IUCN considers mule deer least concern. Ongoing threats include habitat loss due to agriculture, urban expansion, and oil and gas operations, as well as hunting and disease. Chronic wasting disease also poses a threat to mule deer populations.

Physical Description:

Mule deer are generally gray-brown, with a small black-tipped white tail. It is possible to distinguish them from white-tailed deer by this tail, which is much smaller and not flashed when running - and by their large ears and males' forking antler pattern.

Colorado mule deer range from the Colorado Division of Wildlife. Mule deer are common across almost all of Colorado, but are more abundant in the montane regions of the western half of the state, where white-tailed deer do not exist as competition.

Habitat:

Mule deer are well adapted to the American West, preferring arid and rocky environments, and are widespread from the continental divide to the west coast and into southwestern Canada and northern Mexico.

Behavior:

Mule deer form small family herds of females and their offspring, while mature bucks either remain solitary or form bachelor herds. A series of small family groups may band together for protection during the winter, splitting up again in the spring. They migrate depending on habitat - deer living in mountainous regions may move into lower elevations during the winter to find better forage. They are generally crepuscular, being most active at dawn and dusk.

Diet:

Mule deer are generally browsers, and though they can survive on grasses when necessary, they will preferentially eat more nutrient-dense foods like young shoots and forbs, and nuts and fruit when available.

Reproduction:

Bucks grow antlers to use in inter-male dominance battles during the breeding season, or "rut". Successful males will mate with multiple females. Gestation lasts 200 days and females generally give birth to one to two fawns per pregnancy.

Associated Species:

Mountain lions, bobcats and coyotes commonly predate upon mule deer.

Illustration by Willow Sedam

Sources:https://www.nwf.org/Educational-Resources/Wildlife-Guide/Mammals/Mule-Deer, https://muledeer.org/mule-deer-black-tailed-facts-biology/, https://wildlife.ca.gov/Regions/6/Deer/Natural-History, https://www.nps.gov/romo/learn/nature/mule_deer.htm

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