Perhaps the biggest conservation concern for most whitetail hunters is Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), which seems to be popping up in new areas on a daily basis. enough that it is believed they are having a significant impact on certain deer herds. Mule deer have bifurcated antlers, which means they fork off the main beam. Whitetails are found anywhere there’s some cover and food, even suburban neighborhoods and city greenbelts. Their large rump, though, is much lighter in color than the rest of their body. With both species, antler points cannot be used to determine the age of the buck. Mule deer range is more limited than whitetails, but they’re found from the deserts of Mexico in the south, all the way north into the remote mountains of British Columbia and the Yukon Territory. The long-term impacts of CWD are still being assessed, but the disease is already impacting whitetail conservation and management strategies all over the country. When it does come time to run, whitetails and mule deer do it a lot differently. It must work well against coyotes and mountain lions, but it has been the demise of many a mule deer that thought they were out of reach from a human threat. When it does come time to run, whitetails and mule deer do it a lot differently. Whitetails are now found in nearly all of the continental United States. It’s thought that their large ears are an evolutionary trait that allows them to more easily dissipate body heat in hot desert environments. Antlers grow from the tip while horns grow from the base. Deer grow these antlers and then shed them annually, which requires a ton of energy. in nearly all of the continental United States. A white-tailed deer buck’s antler points will all grow off of one main beam. But if you get closer, you sense a predictable pattern. Basic Antler Terminology Whitetails evolved in thick marshes and forests where visibility was limited. This website uses cookies to improve your experience. Here, they mingled with blacktail deer whose ancestors migrated from southeast Alaska, south down the Pacific coast during the ice age. It’s not uncommon to see mule deer in colder climates with chunks of their ears missing due to frostbite. Dr. Valerius Geist, one of the world’s foremost experts on deer ecology, says this in his book Deer of the World: “This happened most likely during the ecological turmoil of megafaunal extictions 11,000 to 9,000 years ago. It’s likely that several factors, many of which mule deer could withstand on an individual basis, are adding up to a much larger problem. Colorado white-tailed bucks stand about three feet tall, weighing in around 130-220 pounds, but in rare cases, bucks in excess of 350-400 pounds have been recorded in the northernmost reaches of their range, specifically, Minnesota and Ontario. A doe will usually produce a single fawn the first year she gives birth and then produce twins in following years. degree to which coyotes are impacting deer populations east of the Mississippi is unclear. Because food resources are plentiful and winters manageable, lowland whitetails don’t need to travel long distances to survive. But there have been several sightings of both species within the Last Frontier—including within the Upper Lynn Canal, KHNS.org reports.With Sitka blacktail deer … Mule deer, on the other hand, are considered the world’s “youngest” deer species, having evolved into their current form as a post-glacial species only 10 thousand years ago. Moose are the only related species with a similar range to the reindeer. They expanded their range from their original habitat in what is now the southeastern United States, across the southern portion of the country below the ice sheet towards California. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience. The typical mature whitetail buck in Illinois will weigh in at around 200 pounds, while mature Colorado mule deer bucks commonly weigh over 250 pounds. The hybrid evolved as a new form, the mule deer, by adapting to climatically more extreme, open landscapes…”. There’s a lot of theories behind why whitetails evolved this “flagging” display system. Whitetail deer mate … I will add that big, old mule deer bucks rarely give a hunter this opportunity anymore, so maybe they are adjusting to humans carrying high-powered rifles. The antlers of mule deer are bifurcated rather than branching from a single … Agriculture and forest thinning have been a boon to whitetails. Antlers are solid bone and are shed annually. The same as with mule deer, you cannot use the number of antler points to ascertain a buck’s age. 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