Mule deer 651521 226119674 2008-07-16T22:14:28Z 156.74.250.7 {{Taxobox | name = Mule Deer | status = LR/lc | image = Mule_Deer_in_snow.jpg | image_width = 240px | image_caption = A Mule Deer in [[Colorado]], [[USA]]. | regnum = [[Animal]]ia | phylum = [[Chordate|Chordata]] | classis = [[Mammal]]ia | ordo = [[Artiodactyla]] | familia = [[Cervidae]] | subfamilia = '''Odocoileinae''' | genus = ''[[Odocoileus]]'' | species = '''''O. hemionus''''' | binomial = ''Odocoileus hemionus'' | binomial_authority = ([[Constantine Samuel Rafinesque-Schmaltz|Rafinesque]], [[1817]]) }} The '''mule deer''' (''Odocoileus hemionus'') is a [[deer]] whose habitat is in the western half of [[North America]]. It gets its name from its large [[mule]]-like ears. Its closest relative is the [[black-tailed deer]] (considered by some a subspecies of mule deer). Unlike its cousin, the [[white-tailed deer]], mule deer are generally more associated with the land west of the [[Missouri River]]. The most noticeable differences between whitetails and muleys are the color of their tails and configuration of their antlers. The mule deer's tail is black tipped. Mule deer antlers "fork" as they grow rather than branching from a single main beam (as with white-tails). Each year a buck's antlers start to grow in spring and are shed after mating season from mid-January to mid-April. Mule deer bucks have somewhat more prominent ears than females. The mule deer is the largest of the ''Odocoileus'' genus, standing, on the average, 40 to 42 inches at the shoulders and stretching 80 inches or so nose to tail. An adult buck will weigh from 150 to 300 pounds on the hoof, with does averaging 100 to 175 pounds. The occasional trophy-sized mule deer buck may weigh in around 400 pounds.[http://www.motherearthnews.com/Nature-and-Environment/1985-11-01/The-Deer-of-North-America.aspx] Instead of running, mule deer move with a bounding leap ([[stotting]]) with all four feet coming down together. Adult male mule deer are called ''bucks'', adult females are called ''does'', and young of both sexes are called ''fawns''. ==Seasonal behaviors== In addition to movements related to available shelter and food, the breeding cycle is important in understanding deer behavior and personality. The "[[Rut (mammalian reproduction)|rut]]" or mating season usually begins in the fall as does go into [[estrus]] for a period of a few days and males become more aggressive, competing for mates. Does may mate with more than one buck and go back into estrus within a month if they do not mate. The gestation period is approximately 190&ndash;200 days, with fawns born in the spring, staying with their mothers during the summer and being weaned in the fall after approximately 60&ndash;75 days. A buck's antlers fall off during the winter, to grow again in preparation for the next season's rut. For more information see main article on [[deer]]. ==Foraging== In summer, it chiefly forages on not only herbaceous plants, but also various berries (including [[blackberry]], [[huckleberry]], [[salal]], and [[thimbleberry]]). In winter, it forages on [[conifers]] (especially twigs of [[Douglas fir]], [[cedar]], [[Taxus|Taxus yews]], [[aspen]], [[willow]], [[dogwood]], [[serviceberry]], [[juniper]], and [[Sagebrush|sage]]). Year-round, it eats [[acorns]] and [[apples]]. [[image:Mule Deer in Zion Canyon.jpeg|thumb|250px|Mule Deer grazing in [[Zion National Park]].]] [[image:Mule Deer at Clearwater Pass 2.jpg|thumb|250px|A Mule Deer doe grazing near the Devon Lakes.]] Mule deer prefer "edge" habitats where the trees meet the grass, and their populations tend to move up or down with those of their preferred foods. Mule deer rarely travel far from water or forage, and tend to bed down within easy walking distance of both. Young mule deer tend to forage together in family groups while bucks tend to travel alone or with other bucks. Most actively foraging around dawn and dusk, they tend to bed down in protected areas mid-day, but will also forage at night in more open agricultural areas or when pressured by hunters. Repeated beds will often be scratched level, about the size of a washtub. Temporary beds will seem little more than flattened grassy grounds. ==Classification== *'''Family Cervidae''' **'''Genus Odocoileus''' ***'''Species ''hemionus'' (western and central North America)''' ****''[[Odocoileus hemionus californicus]]'' ([[California]] mule deer) ****''[[Odocoileus hemionus cerrosensis]]'' (Cedros (Cerros) Island mule deer) ****''[[Odocoileus hemionus columbianus]]'' (Columbian black-tailed or coast deer, [[British Columbia]] to northern California)( ****''[[Odocoileus hemionus crooki]]'' (Desert mule deer, north Mexico) ****''[[Odocoileus hemionus eremicus]]'' (Burro deer, northwest Mexico and Arizona) ****''[[Odocoileus hemionus fuliginatus]]'' (Southern mule deer, California) ****''[[Odocoileus hemionus hemionus]]'' (Mule deer, western and central North America) ****''[[Odocoileus hemionus inyoensis]]'' (Inyo mule deer, California) ****''[[Odocoileus hemionus peninsulae]]'' (Peninsula mule deer, Baja, California) ****''[[Odocoileus hemionus sheldoni]]'' (Tiburon Island mule deer, [[Tiburon Island]]) ****''[[Odocoileus hemionus sitkensis]]'' ([[Sitka]] deer, coastal area and islands off western British Columbia) ****''[[Odocoileus hemionus hemionus]] '' ([Rocky Mountian Mule Deer) ==References== * {{IUCN2006|assessors=Deer Specialist Group|year=1996|id=42393|title=Odocoileus hemionus|downloaded=12 May 2006}} *{{ITIS|ID=180698|taxon=Odocoileus hemionus|year=2006|date=23 March}} ==External links== {{commonscat|Odocoileus hemionus}} <!--Please consult [[WP:LINKS]] before adding links--> *[http://www.mnh.si.edu/mna/image_info.cfm?species_id=229 Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History species account-Mule Deer] *[http://www.azgfd.gov/video/MuleDeer.shtml Video of Mule Deer in Arizona] *[http://www.motherearthnews.com/Nature-and-Environment/1985-11-01/The-Deer-of-North-America.aspx The Deer of North America] {{Artiodactyla|R.1}} [[Category:Deer]] [[Category:Mammals of North America|Deer, Mule]] [[Category:Mammals of the United States|Deer, Mule]] [[cs:Jelenec ušatý]] [[de:Maultierhirsch]] [[es:Odocoileus hemionus]] [[fr:Cerf hémione]] [[it:Odocoileus hemionus]] [[he:אייל פרדי שחור זנב]] [[hu:Öszvérszarvas]] [[nl:Muildierhert]] [[no:Mulhjort]] [[oc:Odocoileus hemionus]] [[pl:Mulak]] [[ru:Чернохвостый олень]] [[fi:Muulipeura]] [[sv:Svartsvanshjort]] [[tr:Katır geyiği]] [[uk:Олень чорнохвостий]]