Big Game: Mule Deer and White-tailed Deer

Transcript for Mule Deer

On screen: Mule Deer created by the Arizona Game and Fish Department (www.azgfd.gov)

The most abundant deer in Arizona is the Rocky Mountain mule deer. Mule deer are not limited to any one type of terrain—being found from sparse, low desert to high forested mountains. Generally, they prefer the more rugged country. The mule deer gets its name from its large ears. Color code is reddish brown in summer, turning to a blue gray in winter. Its forehead is much darker than its face, while its throat, belly, and inner leg surfaces are white.

Mule deer have white rump patches and short, narrow, black-tipped white tails. The mule deer is the larger of Arizona’s deer. Adult bucks may weigh in excess of 200 pounds and stand up to 42 inches at the shoulder. Does average 125 pounds.

Typical mule deer antler configuration has each side branching equally into two main beams. Each may fork into two tines. Deer feed on grasses and forbs in the spring and summer; however, they are primarily browsers. Important plants in a mule deer’s diet include mountain mahogany, buck brush, cliff rose, sagebrush, buckthorn, juniper, and oak. Most feeding is done at dawn and dusk, although human activity may cause a shift to more feeding at night.

Transcript for Coues Deer White-Tailed Deer

On screen: Coues deer created by the Arizona Game and Fish Department (www.azgfd.gov)

On screen: Coues Deer

The Coues is a subspecies of the white-tailed deer. Coues deer are most common in Arizona’s southeastern mountains but range up to the edge of the Mogollon Rim and into the White Mountains. They are most abundant in areas of predictable summer precipitation. They prefer woodlands of chaparral, oak, and pine with interspersed clearings.

The Coues deer is much smaller than most of its eastern cousins. Bucks stand just over 30 inches at the shoulder and rarely weigh over a 100 pounds. Does average 65 pounds. A doe’s first pregnancy usually results in a single fawn. Thereafter, she may bear twins. Usually, a white-tailed fawn will stay with its mother longer than a mule deer will.

When seen at a distance, two distinguishing characteristics between mule deer and Coues deer are evident in their tails and their gait. The Coues has a flagging white tail and a more natural run. Mule deer, on the other hand, run using a stiff-legged, bounding gait known as stotting. In Arizona’s southern mountain ranges, whitetails are generally found at higher elevations than are mule deer.