Mule Deer
Odocoileus hemionus
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Basic Information
Other names
Black-tailed Deer
Order
Artiodactyla
Family
Cervidae
Size
Mule Deer are generally between stand between 30 and 45 inches tall and are 4 to 7 feet in length.
Lifespan
up to 18 years in the wild
Weight
Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus) facts, habitat, diet, range, deer pictures and more to help you learn to identify the ungulate.
Diet
Herbivore
Breeding
Does birth usually birth two fawns. If it is their first time often only one.
Range
Prairie, Great Lakes, Rocky Mountains, Southwest, Texas, California, Pacific Northwest, Western Canada, Alaska
What does the Mule Deer look like?
Mule Deer are recognizeable by their black tipped tail and white rump. Interior Mule Deer tend to be lighter in color than their costal cousins. Their ears are larger and tails are shorter than white-tailed deer. Bucks have dichotomously branching antlers. They shed them in early winter and regrow over the summer.
Mule Deer Habitat
Forests
Mule Deer Facts
Mule Deer tend to migrate to higher elevations in the summer and lowlands in the winter. Their large ears enable them to hear predators from far away and they also have incredible eye site; often able to see a potential predator as far as 600 meters away.