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Rocky Mountain Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus hemionus)
Mammals Around Las Vegas, Wildlife Around Las Vegas
Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus)

General Information: Rocky Mountain Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus hemionus) are deer of the western mountains. In this widespread subspecies (Nevada to Oklahoma and north into Canada, except not the Pacific coastal region), the rump is mostly tan, and the tail is white with a black tip.

Around Las Vegas, Rocky Mountain mule deer can most easily be seen in the Spring Mountains (Mt. Charleston), but they can be found in all of the higher mountain ranges around southern Nevada from about the Upper Sonoran (Pinyon-Juniper Woodland) life zone up to the Alpine (Alpine Tundra) life zone. Males have antlers that are shed and regrown every year. Mule deer get their name from their over-sized, mule-like ears.

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.

Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus)
Male mule deer during summer (red)

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.

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: Occur from Nevada to Oklahoma and north into Canada, except not the Pacific coastal region.

Comments:

Rocky Mountain Mule Deer If you were a tasty leaf on a bush or a little forb, this might be the last face you ever see!
Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus)
Rocky Mountain Mule Deer doe (female) and buck (male)
Rocky Mountain Mule Deer
Rocky Mountain Mule Deer, young buck (male)
Rocky Mountain Mule Deer
Rocky Mountain Mule Deer, young buck (male)
Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus)
Two older bucks, Malheur NWR, central Oregon
Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus)
Older buck grown new antlers
Rocky Mountain Mule Deer
Tail color pattern
Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus)
Rocky Mountain Mule Deer doe (female)
Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus)
Rocky Mountain Mule Deer doe (female)
Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus) Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus)
Great Sand Dunes National Park, Colorado; summer pelt
Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus)
Doe with two fawns (Zion National Park)
Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus)
Doe with two fawns (Zion National Park)
Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus)
Fawn (Zion National Park)
Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus)
Fawn (Zion National Park)
Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus)
Lactating doe with udder (Zion National Park)
Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus)
Lactating doe with udder (Zion National Park)
Rocky Mountain Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus hemionus)
Mule deer shed antler: fork and fork again
Rocky Mountain Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus hemionus)
Mule deer shed antler: fork and fork again
Rocky Mountain Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus hemionus)
Mule deer shed antler
Rocky Mountain Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus hemionus)
Mule deer shed antler
Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus)
Mule deer track in mud
Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus)
Mule deer track in wet sand
Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus)
Mule deer track in wet sand
Rocky Mountain Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus hemionus)
Tracks are heart-shaped with convex sides
Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus)
Typical pile of scat where a deer was spending some time
Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus)
Typical pile where perhaps a deer was lying down
Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus)
Tends to have a nipple on one end and a dimple on the other
Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus)
dimple on one end
Rocky Mountain Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus hemionus)
Small Ponderosa Pine with Mule Deer rub (cleaning antlers)
Rocky Mountain Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus hemionus)
Small Ponderosa Pine with Mule Deer rub (cleaning antlers)
Rocky Mountain Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus hemionus)
Small Ponderosa Pine with Mule Deer rub (cleaning antlers)
Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus)
Mule deer in Ruby Marsh, northeastern Nevada
Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus)
Heading for the hills! Mule deer in Ruby Marsh, NE Nevada
Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus)
Mule Deer at Red Rock Canyon NCA © 2011 Bill Raufmann
Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus)
Pahranagat NWR, southern Nevada
Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus)
Pahranagat NWR, southern Nevada

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

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