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It’s likely that several factors, many of which mule deer could withstand on an individual basis, are adding up to a much larger problem. Large ears, white rump, black-tipped tail and forked antlers identify a mule deer. Their natural and preferred food sources include an array of forbs and shrubs rather than grass, although in the spring they’ll seek out fresh green grass. Because food resources are plentiful and winters manageable, lowland whitetails don’t need to travel long distances to survive. Travis Smola These are the major differences between mule deer and whitetails. Other deer species are mule deer, fallow deer, red deer, sika deer, water deer, Elk and many more. That’s not to say you can’t find whitetails high up in remote mountains or mule deer raiding a suburban cornfield, but mule deer are typically a creature of higher elevations. In some places, whitetails and mule deer are found side-by-side, whether that’s in an irrigated alfalfa field in western Kansas or a remote canyon in eastern Washington. Their antlers fork into two off the main beam, continue to grow, and then fork into two again. Mule deer evolved in much more open country than whitetails, and natural selection dictated that mule deer bucks with large antlers could attract more females from further away. Still hunting works very well for mule deer, but whitetail hunters east of the Mississippi rarely have the opportunity for a spot and stalk hunt. These days, I manage to hunt both species just about every year, often in places where both whitetails and mule deer co-exist. Whitetails run fast, sometimes with a bounding leap to escape predators. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. But if you get closer, you sense a predictable pattern. Great article, most of these type write ups are more confusing than helpful. From a distance, they look pretty similar to one another. Because whitetails are so keyed in to human hunting activities, most whitetail hunters employ ambush and stand hunting tactics to kill them. Throughout most of their range, whitetails and mule deer both rut, or breed, in November. When it comes to their antlers, the whitetail deer has a main shaft, with the rest all pointing upwards. There’s a lot of theories behind why whitetails evolved this “flagging” display system. Coues whitetail x desert mule deer hybrid (F1) produced in captivity by Gerald Day in the early 1970s. mature whitetail buck in Illinois will weigh in at around 200 pounds, Colorado mule deer bucks commonly weigh over 250 pounds. Alaska is one of the true wilderness states and home to a variety of wildlife. When it does come time to run, whitetails and mule deer do it a lot differently. Theories abound as to why mule deer populations are falling. California and Nevada are the exceptions for the time being, but whitetails are constantly expanding their range into new areas. They are mysterious, here-today gone-tomorrow travelers, that prefer tough, remote environments where people don’t like to go, especially the biggest, oldest bucks that never stop to look back before they slip over the ridge. Mule deer mate from mid- to late-November; white-tailed deer breed from late-November to early December. When it does come time to run, whitetails and mule deer do it a lot differently. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are as essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. The size and formation of deer antlers depend on a lot of different factors, such as age, nutrients, and genetics. Whitetails live in thicker, flatter country so fleeing a short ways into the brush is fast and easy. Whitetail and Mule Deer Lock Antlers in Cross-Species Brawl. Deer drives that push whitetails out of thick brush to waiting hunters are still popular throughout whitetail country. Boreal forests and tundra are the reindeer’s preferred habitat. It’s believed there’s around three and half million of the two species combined. Video tips and tactics that will help you develop a plan to safely head out on the ice and fish for everything from bass to walleye. Each spring, a buck's antlers start to regrow almost immediately after the old antlers are shed. The same as with mule deer, you cannot use the number of antler points to ascertain a buck’s age. Enjoy page after page of stunning photography, featuring some of Colorado’s most beautiful wildlife and landscapes. Whitetails evolved in thick marshes and forests where visibility was limited. Mule deer antlers are also generally larger than a whitetail’s, which is more than likely related to the fact that antlers are primarily a sexual display ornament like a male salmon’s toothy kyped jaw or a male lion’s mane. However, you can tell the differences between the two because of their structure. Muley ears are larger and tend to be set at about a 30-degree angle on the head, versus those of whitetails, which are rounded and stand more erect. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, unchecked development in mountain valleys throughout the west is carving up mule deer winter range at an alarming rate. However, there are two major differences between the mule deer vs whitetail. Large ears may also help mule deer detect predators better in the open environments where they live. Typical White-tailed Deer Antlers. Over a period of hundreds, possibly thousands of years and generation after generation of hybridization, mule deer emerged as a new deer species. Mule deer does take longer to mature. Whitetails are now found in nearly all of the continental United States. The long-term impacts of CWD are still being assessed, but the disease is already impacting whitetail conservation and management strategies all over the country. In critical migration corridors, barriers created by energy extraction are obstructing historical mule deer travel routes. Mule deer, on the other hand, are considered the world’s “youngest” deer species, having evolved into their current form as a post-glacial species only 10 thousand years ago. They’re accessible, abundant and widespread. Southward, whitetails extend into Mexico and the tropical jungles of Central and South America. This is in large part because they don’t have to. The peak of the whitetail rut tends to fall during the first week or two of November. Mule deer range is more limited than whitetails, but they’re found from the deserts of Mexico in the south, all the way north into the remote mountains of British Columbia and the Yukon Territory. In the middle of the day they bed down to rest and chew their cud. Both continue to grow and fork again from there. Antlers are among the most identifiable characteristics of species of the deer family, Cervidae, which comprises caribou, elk, moose, mule deer and white-tailed deer (Figure 1). A Whitetail’s antlers do not fork; they have one main beam rather where other tines grow off … Whitetail deer mate … Whitetails are America’s favorite big game animal, and for good reason. As far as smell goes, both species of deer rely on their exceptional sense of smell to avoid being eaten or shot at. The animals are similar in body size, but … Enter your email address and receive notifications of new posts by email. Confirming whether it’s necessary or not to run a long ways prevents them from wasting valuable calories. White-tailed deer gallop rather than hop. A white-tailed deer buck’s antler points will all grow off of one main beam. Bucks of both species shed their antlers yearly — in January or February for whitetails, while mule deer have to hold up their racks a month longer, typically shedding them in February or March. Gestation for mule deer is seven months, versus six and a half for white-tailed deer. CPW aquatic biologists studying Bear Creek after survey shows troubling decline in population of greenback cutthroat, Colorado’s state fish. A mule deer’s home range is vastly larger than the average whitetail. In comparison, the top of a black tail’s tail, as the name implies, is almost entirely dark or black. Personally, I believe mule deer rely on their eyesight more than whitetails and that they see a bit better at long range. This phenomena is known as. Fully formed, mature mule deer racks are taller and broader … These meetings are designed to be a chance for Colorado hunters and anglers to interact directly with Colorado Parks and Wildlife staff. Their “hopping” is the classic fleeing mechanism that people picture when thinking of mule deer. So the blacktail and mule deer are the same species, but the mulie is a subspecies of the blacktail, and they are both close cousins to the whitetail. Mule deer and whitetail both have highly advanced sensory capabilities when it comes to predator and hunter avoidance. Except for caribou, only male deer … Tiny subspecies like the Keys deer or Coues deer aside, whitetails vary widely in average body size across their range, from small-bodied south Texas deer to giant three-hundred pound Saskatchewan bucks. As the youngest deer species in the world, it’s possible mule deer haven’t had time to evolve away from this trait. Male Mule Deer Female Mule Deer Antlers vs. The white-tailed deer is North America’s most popular big-game animal because whitetails thrive just about everywhere. This is the most popular method of mule deer hunting out west. While producing a genuine antler chandelier can be a very time-consuming process, the reward is one unique piece that you can hang up your ceiling with pride. Mule deer live in more open terrain, so why keep running if a quick stop and look around proves it’s unnecessary to do so. Physically, however, there’s some pretty distinguishing features that separate whitetails from mule deer. Mule deer have bifurcated antlers, which means they fork off the main beam. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. Big bucks, land management, rut reports, and tips for the whitetail obsessed. Whitetails can get by just about anywhere. 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