MAMMALS: HOOFED MAMMALS

Mule Deer, Odocoileus hemionus

Family Cervidae (Deer, Elk, and Moose)

Size: 6' long with tail (males larger than females)

Range: Throughout Colorado

Habitat: Quite variable; forests, chaparral, bushy grasslands

The mule deer is quite common throughout its range, and so-called because of its very large, mulelike ears. Its color is gray brown in winter, rusty brown in summer, with a white throat, muzzle, and belly. Depending on the region, its tail may have a black tip or may have black on the top surface. Males have antlers that are evenly forked (not with tines from a central beam, as in the white-tailed deer). In summer, the antlers are covered in velvet. Mule deer are active at twilight, moving in small groups or singly, and browsing for tree branches, grasses, and herbs.