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MULE DEER
 BIOLOGICAL DESCRIPTION OF THE MULE DEER
TAXONOMY
CLASS: MAMALIA
ORDER: ARTIODACTYLA
FAMILY: CERVIDAE
GENUS: Odocoileus
SPECIES: hemionus
THERE EXIST 11 SUBSPECIES OF MULE DEER THAT DISTRIBUTE FROM THE WEST PART OF NORTH AMERICA TO THE CENTRAL PART OF MEXICO (MACKIE et al, 1978):
O. hemionus hemionus ROCKY MOUNTAIN MULE
O. hemionus crooki DESERT MULE
O. hemionus californicus CALIFORNIA MULE
O. hemionus fuliginatus SOUTHWEST MULE
O. hemionus peninsulae PENINSULA MULE
O. hemionus columbianus BLACK TAIL COLUMBIA MULE
O. hemionus sitkensis BLACK TAIL SITKA MULE
O. hemionus eremicus DONKEY BURA(*)
O. hemionus sheldoni SHARK ISLAND MULE(*)
O. hemionus inyoensis INYO MULE(*)
O. hemionus cedrosensis CEDER ISLAND MULE(*)
(*) EXTINCTION DANGER
MULE DEER ARE CERVIDS THAT CAN MEASURE UP TO 1.5O m HIGH. THEY ARE TALLER THAN WHITE TAIL DEER, REACHING THEIR SUPERIOR WEIGHT AT 105 kg. THEY HAVE A SHORT DARK TAIL AND THEIR EARS MEASURE UP TO 18 cm. (BOOT, 1971)
THEY HAVE 2 GLANDS THAT ALLOW THEM TO RELEASE ESSENCES, ONE METATARSAL AND THE OTHER PREORBITAL.
THESE DEER DISTRIBUTE WIDELY IN THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA IN THE STATES OF ARIZONA, NEW MEXICO, BRITISH COLUMBIA, ALBERTA AND CENTRAL SASKATCHEWAN, WASHINGTON, OREGON, NORTH AND SOUTH DAKOTA, KANSAS, CALIFORNIA, NEBRASKA, MISSOURI, MINESOTA, IOWA, TEXAS, COLORADO.
IN MEXICO IN THE NORTHERN STATES: BAJA CALIFORNIA, BAJA CALIFORNIA SUR, SONORA, CHIHUAHUA, COAHUILA AND DURANGO (COWAN, 1956; HANLEY, 1984 AND WALLMO, 1980).
MULE DEER DISTRIBUTION DEPENDS ON THE VEGETATION. THEIR DISTRIBUTION IS LESS IN SMALL VEGETATED AREAS BECAUSE THEY DON'T HAVE THE PLANTS AND TREES TO EAT FROM.
THEY CAN BE FOUND IN DIVERSE HABITATS, LIKE CONIFEROUS FORESTS, PASTURES AND LONG DESERTIC EXTENSIONS.
THE FERVOR SEASON IS VARIABLE, IN MEXICO IT STARTS IN DECEMBER AND CONTINUES DURING JANUARY. GESTATION MAY BE OF 6 TO 7 MONTHS DEPENDING ON THE SUBSPECIES.
FEMALES REACH SEXUAL MATURITY AT THEIR ONE AND A HALF YEAR OLD, AND MALES REACH IT WHEN COMPETING WITH OLDER MALES.
IN AREAS WHERE FOOD IS SCARCE, FEMALES ARE NOT CAPABLE OF PRODUCING ONE MUSK DEER.
MULE DEER FEEDS FROM A GREAT VARIETY OF PLANTS. THEY ARE CAPABLE OF ALTERING A VEGETATIVE POPULATION TO EVEN DAMAGE IT. (REED, 1981)
MULES EAT LEAVES, STEMS AND SMALL PARTS OF PLANTS. NEVERTHELESS THIS VARIES WITH THE REGIONS THEY HABIT, THEY CAN ALSO EAT GRASS, ENCINE, ETC.
ACCORDING TO SOME STUDIES, MULE DEER CAN FEED FROM THOUSANDS OF DIFFERENT VEGETAL SPECIES (GRUELL, 1986; HANLEY, 1984; KEAY, 1980; KUFELD et al 1973; MAASER et al, 1981 AND URNES et al, 1975)
DEER DEPREDATORS ARE HUMANS, DOMESTIC DOGS, WOLVES, BLACK BEARS, PUMAS, LINX, COYOTES AND ROYAL EAGLES (MACKIE et al, 1987).
BIOLOGICAL EVENTS OF THE MULE DEER
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EVENT
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J
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F
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M
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A
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M
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J
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J
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A
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S
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O
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N
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D
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REPRODUCTION
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X
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X
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X
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GESTATION
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X
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X
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X
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X
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X
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X
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X
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X
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BIRTHS
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X
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X
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X
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WEANING
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X
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X
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X
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X
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X
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X
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X
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SPECIES DATA
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COMMON NAME:
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VENADO BURA
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SCIENTIFIC NAME:
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Odocoileus hemionus
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TYPE OF GAIN:
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CINEGETIC
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TYPE OF MARKING:
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HUNTING LICENSE
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