Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemoinus)

As the sun goes down, mule deer become more active. Mule deer can often be seen at Jewel Cave National Monument on hilltops silhouetted by the setting sun.

NPS/ Quentin Bucker

 

In the springtime, mule deer does and fawns are a common site along the 3.5 mile Canyons trail loop.

Jessica Weinberg McClosky / NPS

Mule Deer
Odocoileus hemoinus

• Mule deer are commonly seen living high in the hills of Jewel Cave National Monument.
• While most active at dawn and dusk, it isn’t uncommon to see mule deer laying in their beds while hiking the canyons trail.
• Named for their huge ears which resemble those of a mule.
• Mule deer have a unique style of getting away in a hurry. Instead of running in a more traditional sense, mule deer ‘Stot’ which can be described as a series of forward jumps where all four feet leave the ground at a time.
• Stotting is a very energetically expensive way to move but it is very efficient way to navigate through downed trees and rocks in the mountains and hills where they live.

Size and Description

• Mule deer bucks and does have a noticeable size difference. Bucks may weigh up to 350 lbs. while does rarely surpass 150 lbs.
• At the shoulder a buck may stand 3-3.5 feet tall while a doe will average around 3 feet at the shoulder.
• Body coloration is consistent between bucks and does. Brown bodies a white rump, huge ears that are lighter in color on the inside, gray around the muzzle with a dark brown patch between the ears (which is more noticeable on older bucks).
• Aside from their ears, mule deer are easily differentiated from their white-tailed cousins by the mule deer’s small black tipped tails vs the large and expressive tail of the white-tail.
• Antlers are another way differentiate between the two deer species. Mule deer have bifurcated antlers – this means the tines of the antlers fork and multiply from the main beam. These forks will look like a slingshot at the end of each antler tine.

 

Mule deer like to bed down on the hills above the Canyons Trail. Watch for the movement of their ears, you just might spot a few.

NPS Photo

Behavior

• Mule deer are semi gregarious animals. Does will spend time in a small herd, often with a few other does and their fawns and it is not uncommon to find bachelor groups of bucks together outside of the rut.
• During their rut, bucks will compete for dominance and breeding rights by locking antlers and fighting until one of the bucks submits.
• It is common for mule deer does to give birth to two fawns. This is a sign of a doe in very good health, just as a buck with very large impressive antlers is a sign of being in good health.

Diet

• Mule deer are dietary generalists. If it grows from the ground, a lot of times a mule deer will eat it. Grass, berries, sagebrush, leaves, twigs, flowers, fruit, a mule deer can digest a wide variety of plant matter.
• In winter when their choices are more limited, mule deer depend heavily on browse from shrubs and twigs and anything they may be able to draw nutrients from.

Interactions with other animals

• Mountain lions rely heavily on robust populations of mule deer to survive. Coyotes and bobcats are also predators of mule deer; however, they will primarily predate on fawns in the springtime.