Mule Deer

Photo by Steven Fine on Wikimedia

Odocoileus hemionus

Last week, I had Mule Deer run in front of my car several times, and I felt I should write them up and maybe they would stop giving me a heart attack. It isn’t rut, which is their breeding season, when the males are so distracted they don’t pay attention to cars. It’s still too early for fawning season. Maybe they are just excited it is spring.

Mule Deer should be excited for the season change because they are browsers, or leaf eaters. They have to be creative in the winter when there aren’t any leaves. Amazingly, they do live in a variety of habitats across Western North America, including the desert, so they have clearly adapted well.

Mule Deer are part of the bovine family, which includes cows, bison, and some species of antelope. Mule Deer only have bottom teeth and a hard palate instead of top teeth, but their most notable characteristic is their ears, from which they get their name. Apparently, their ears make up ¾ of the length of their head. They are also known as Black-Tailed Deer, but really, who is looking at their tail with ears like that!

Mule Deer are my deer. They are the species I would see when we would go camping as children. I helped raise orphaned Mule Deer at Heritage Park Zoological Sanctuary. We rehabilitated them at California Wildlife Center, and then would see them wander through the property after release. I’d see them all the time at Malibu Creek State Park. And, most recently, I would see them wander through my mother’s yard, on occasion.  Whenever I see a different species of deer, I think they look weird. It’s not their fault, I am just so used to seeing Mule Deer. Now that I live in Kansas and we have both Mule and White-Tailed Deer, I’m hoping I have an opportunity to compare them.
​
This is not the last time I will write about Mule Deer. Because they live near humans, there are lots of opportunities for human/Mule Deer conflict, especially during fawning and rut. Stay tuned for helpful tips. And in the meantime, drive a little more slowly if you are in an area where Mule Deer live. 

---