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(Odocoileus hemionus hemionus) The story of the modern deer begins about 25 million years ago. These predecessors of our modern deer had no antlers, and were not as handsome or large as what we see today. In the beginning, they were no gibber than modern house cats, and scurried through the Oligocene forests in an attempt at survival in the Old World. Lacking antlers, they would fight their battles with long saber-like teeth. Over millions of years, their physiology changed; they grew larger and developed the familiar antlers we know today. During the last Ice Age, as glaciers advanced and retreated, deer migrated across the Bering Strait into North America. The human hunters of the time knew only a few kinds of deer, but today there are nearly 60 known species around the world. The Rocky Mountain Mule Deer is basically a western version of the whitetail deer that is larger |
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in rack and body size,
and more adapted to open, arid habitats. They lack the
characteristic raised white tail flag of the whitetail, and the
running style of a mule deer is more of a stiff-legged gait when
compared to the graceful leaps and bounds of the whitetail. The
mule deer is also easily distinguished from the whitetail by its |
larger ears, dark gray
coat, and narrow, black-tipped tail. There are eleven subspecies of mule deer whose range covers most of temperate North America, from Baja California and the Mexican highlands, northward into Alaska and the Yukon. This range extends from the shores of the Pacific eastward to an invisible boundary that can be drawn between Saskatchewan and western Texas. Of all these subspecies, the Rocky Mountain mule deer inhabits the greatest range, and has the largest population. Mule deer are stockier in physique than whitetail deer. They also have a distinctive large metatarsal gland that is surrounded by stiff brown hairs. During the summer, the pelage of the mule deer varies from a bittersweet to a tawny brown on top, with a dark brown forehead, black muzzle, and white face. The posterior, thighs, belly, throat and inside of the ear have white hair. During the winter months, the coat of the mule deer changes to a dark or grizzled brown. The male will reach a length of 4.7 to 6.2 feet and 110 to 473 pounds. Females will generally measure from 4.5 to 5 feet and weight 69 to 158 pounds. Maturity is reached at 1.5 years, with an expected lifespan of ten years in the wild, and up to 25 years in captivity. Male mule deer have dichotomously branched antlers that grow out into four prongs on either side of the head when they reach their full mature size. Their construction is basically two main beams, which divide into tow more beams in a "Y" shape, and then each of these branches will divide again. The cycle of their antlers beings in the spring when hormone levels increase, causing new antlers to begin to grow from the pedicles on their skulls. These new antlers have a velvet covering of hair and soft skin laced with blood vessels |
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which carry
nourishment and calcium to the growing antlers. This growth
continues throughout the summer, and constitutes a major investment
of energy and nutrients to grow them. By late August, other
hormonal changes occur which stops the flow of blood into the
vessels, causing the antlers to harden and the velvet covering to
dehydrate. By early September, all of the velvet will have
either fallen away or been rubbed off by the deer as he polishes and
sharpens his antlers for battle. From this point on, the mule
deer experiences its greatest weight gain of the year. The mule deer is primarily a browser and feeds mostly on evergreen twigs, grasses, shrubs and saplings. They are also known to eat forbs, herbs, lichens, nuts, and even mushrooms. Mule deer are known to eat somewhere around 700 different types of plants, grasses, brush, small trees and forbs throughout their extensive range. Because of their diet, all deer must have salt, and they are known to lick large holes in saline clay with their rough tongues. The habitat of the mule deer is mainly open coniferous forests, chaparral, brush, shrubby grasslands, river valleys, and even steep alpine broken terrain. As they generally prefer open ranges, mule deer have evolved larger ears than their whitetail cousins in order to hear sounds that carry over long distances, hopefully betraying the approach of a predator. For further protection, mule deer tend to be sociable and find safety in herds in order to increase their detection of predators. In the winter (usually December or January) after the fall rut, the males lose their antlers and join the females and juveniles, finding safety in large bands of several dozen animals. These bands move according to the changing |
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weather and snow
conditions, but follow a traditional altitudinal migration in
their mountainous ranges. The key factor that determines
distribution and migration is the availability of grazing and
water. During the spring and summer, most of the feeding is
concentrated into the cooler morning and evening hours or beyond.
At mid-day, mule deer are usually found bedded down in shaded
meadows, which provide good cover and concealment, high up where
they can see approaching predators at a distance. For this
reason, the best way to find mule deer out in the open is to rise
early or stay out late. Every year, mule deer have a traditional Autumn rut, in which the largest males attempt to attract a harem of females for breeding, or will instead attempt to "freelance" their way among the females. At this time of year, the deer are busy and moving all day. Dominance is an important part of the rut, and it usually begins when the younger bucks engage in dueling. The older, more dominant males will broadcast their superiority through posturing, intimidation, or an obvious and bla- |
tant display of
their physique and antler size. When dominance is physically
challenged, the rival will lower his head and charge, and the
contestants collide with a shattering crash. They will
typically lock horns, trample bushes, uproot small trees, and tear
up the ground with their sharp hooves. When they break the
lock, they will charge at each other again and again until the
loser is allowed to stagger off. Despite the violence of the
combat, mule deer rarely fight to the death. However,
sometimes antlers become permanently locked together and the deer
will then face a slow death together.
Some of the largest trophy bucks have been encountered in the
loftiest of mountain ridges, usually when the hunter is seeking
bighorn. Mule deer are found in a wide range of habitat at
Luxor Creek, from the alpine early in the season, to the valleys
in search of does in late October and November. Both hunts
can be re- |