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California Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus californica)
Mammals Around Las Vegas, Wildlife Around Las Vegas
Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus)
Tail is white with a black stripe down the center and black tip

General Information: California Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus californica) are the native deer of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and parts of southern California. In this subspecies, the rump is mostly tan, and the tail is white with a black stripe down the center and black tip.

Taxonomy: Order: Artiodactyla (Even-toed Hoofed Mammals); Family: Cervidae (Deer, Elk, Moose, Caribou).

There are 11 subspecies of mule deer. In most cases, the subspecies are difficult to tell apart (except by geography). However, there are obvious differences in the tails of some subspecies: some have black tails, some have white tails, and some have white tails with a black tip.

California Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus californica)

Technical Description: Height about 3 feet. Antlers (males only) are forked, each fork being equal in size (compare with White-tailed Deer). Coat color tends to be reddish in the spring and gray in the winter. The hooves are in pairs; one pair primarily contacts the ground, and another usually remains slightly off the ground behind the first.

Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus)
Doe (female): note oversized ears

Breeding: Deer breed in the fall (fall rut) and produce 1-2 young (fawns) in the spring.

Diet: Vegetation; browse on shrubs and twigs.

Range: Sierra Nevada Mountains and parts of southern California.

Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus) If you were a tasty shrub or perhaps a tasty forb, this might be the last face you ever see!
California Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus californica)
Pair of Mule Deer bucks (males)
California Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus californica)
Mule Deer buck (male)
California Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus californica)
Mule Deer buck (male)
California Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus californica)
Mule Deer buck (male)
California Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus californica)
Mule Deer buck growing new antlers
California Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus californica)
Mule Deer buck growing new antlers
California Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus californica)
Mule Deer buck growing new antlers
California Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus californica)
Mule Deer buck growing new antlers
California Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus californica)
Mule Deer doe (female)
California Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus californica)
Mule Deer doe (female)
California Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus californica)
Mule Deer doe and fawn
California Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus californica)
Mule Deer doe and fawn
California Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus californica)
Mule Deer doe and fawn with spots
California Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus californica)
Mule Deer fawn with spots
California Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus californica)
Mule Deer bucks foraging in an alpine meadow
California Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus californica)
Mule Deer sometimes feed at night

Note: All distances, elevations, and other facts are approximate.
copyright; Last updated 231229

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