After visiting with Kris Boatner, U.S. Forest Service wildlife biologist, I was surprised by all the basic information I didn’t know about our resident mule deer. Dare I admit I was unaware that male mule deer shed their antlers every year? I knew they shed the velvet covering, but the whole rack? I’m guessing some of you are shaking your heads right now — hey, I grew up in a big city — at this nature writer’s ignorance. But for those of you curious about some commonplace facts pertaining to mule deer, read on.
The herd in our area is called the Loyalton-Truckee Deer Herd, and according to a study by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, its 1,240-square-mile range stretches north by Highway 70, southwest from Portola to Beckworth, along the crest of the Sierra Nevada south over Donner Pass to the Placer-El Dorado county line near Miller Lake, and along McKinney Creek to the West Shore of Lake Tahoe. They roam in five California counties: Placer, Sierra, Nevada, Plumas, and Lassen, migrating between summer ranges primarily in California and winter ranges mainly in Nevada. Mule deer, in the Cervidae family, are collectively called Odocoileus hemionus, but have six subspecies in California. The subspecies in our area is Odocoileus hemionus hemionus, commonly known as Rocky Mountain mule deer.
The name mule deer comes from the mammal’s long, mule-like ears, approximately 8 inches long and half as wide. On average, bucks stand 40 inches high at the shoulder and more than 5 feet long, toned reddish brown in summer and grayish brown in winter; does are a trifle smaller. The mule deer tail, coming out of a white rump, measures 5 to 8 inches long and is white with a black tip. The male’s antlers, which grow from around December to October, are dichotomously branched, meaning that new horns branch off each year’s new subset of branches. The older the male, the more branches of antlers he’ll grow. At the end of the year, the mule deer shed their antlers in their wintering grounds in the hills of Verdi, Dog Valley, Peavine Mountain, and south of Doyle.
Watching mule deer run is a beautiful sight to see. All four hooves leave the ground at the same time in a large hop-leap called “slotting.” Other unique traits are the absence of upper front teeth and a dark patch on the forehead, contrasting sharply with the light grey face. Another curious fact is their vision. Because their eyes are located on the sides of their heads, mule deer can see 310 degrees around themselves. According to the Mule Deer Foundation fact sheet, some biologists estimate that a mule deer’s sense of smell is up to 1,000 times stronger than a human’s. All the better for sniffing out the last autumn snacks before the first snowfall.
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