What's the difference?

[AZantlerhead]

So are there any defineing caracteristics between the two species? A definitive geography line? How do the clubs SCI and B&C see it?

[AZantlerhead]

Nobody knows?

[MRL1984]

DESERT MULE DEER

Odocoileus hemionus crooki

 

Buro, Venado mula del desierto (Sp), Maultierhirsch (G), Cerf mulet du desert (F).

 

DESCRIPTION The desert mule deer is similar to the Rocky Mountain mule deer, although slightly smaller, paler in color and with a smaller rump patch. The typical desert mule deer (crooki race) has a comparatively small forehead patch and a dark line running partway down its tail. The southern mule deer (fuliginatus race) is dark-colored with a dark line down its back and almost no white on the tail. The peninsula mule deer (peninsulae race) is pale with a dark line down its back and more white on its tail than the southern mule deer. In all desert mule deer, the antlers are not as heavy or as high as in Rocky Mountain mule deer. Desert mule deer racks tend to have wide spreads, and many lack brow tines.

 

BEHAVIOR Has adapted successfully to extremely harsh conditions-great heat and also intense cold, meager forage, scarce water, and lack of vegetative cover.

 

HABITAT Desert and semi-arid regions.

 

DISTRIBUTION California: The extreme south, in Riverside, Imperial, Orange and San Diego counties.

 

Arizona: South of Highway 68 from Davis Dam on Lake Mohave eastward to Kingman on Interstate 40, then south of Interstate 40 between Kingman and the intersection with Hwy 93, then southwest of Hwy 93 southward between Kingman and Wickenburg, then south of latitude 34°N eastward between Wickenburg and Carrizo on Hwy 60, then west of Hwy 60 southward between between Carrizo and Globe on Hwy 70, then south of Hwy 70 between Globe and Safford, then south of Hwys 191 and 78 from Safford to the New Mexico border.

 

New Mexico: South of Highway 78 from the Arizona border eastward to Hwy 180, then southwest of Hwy 180 through Silver City to the intersection with Hwy 152, then south of Hwy 152 to Caballo on Interstate 25, then east of Interstate 25 northward to Bernardo on Hwy 60, then south of Hwy 60 eastward to Fort Sumner on Hwy 84, then south of Hwy 60/84 to the Texas border.

 

Texas: Most desert mule deer are found in the trans-Pecos region west of the Pecos River, but they also occur in a number of places in the Panhandle region. The game department considers all mule deer in Texas to be desert mule deer, either native populations or from 1949-1968 transplants from the trans-Pecos desert mule deer herd. We accept this in the absence of conflicting opinion.

 

Mexico: Baja California, northern Sonora, northern Chihuahua, and northwestern Coahuila.

 

TAXONOMIC NOTES Five subspecies listed by Wallmo comprise the SCI desert mule deer category: crooki (typical desert mule deer), from southeastern California, southern Arizona and New Mexico, western Texas, northern Sonora and Chihuahua, and northwestern Coahuila; fuliginatus (southern mule deer), from southwestern California through northern Baja California; peninsulae (peninsula mule deer), from the southern half of Baja California; sheldoni (Tiburon Island mule deer); and cerrosensis (Cedros Island mule deer). The name crooki Mearns, 1897 has priority. The formerly recognized buro deer (eremicus) (buro is colloquial Mexican for mule deer) is now included within crooki.

 

STATUS The Cedros Island mule deer (O. h. cerrosensis) is listed as endangered by the USF&WS (1975) and the IUCN, and may not be imported in the United States. It and the Tiburon Island mule deer (O. h. sheldoni) were once feared extinct, but both survive and are legally protected. The other races are secure.

 

ROCKY MOUNTAIN MULE DEER

Odocoileus hemionus hemionus

 

Venado mula de las Rocosas (Sp), Maultierhirsch (G), Cerf mulet (F). Called mule deer because of its large ears.

 

DESCRIPTION The usual buck will stand 40-42 inches (102-107 cm) at the shoulder and weigh 175-200 pounds (80-90 kg), but weights of 300 pounds (135 kg) are not uncommon in some areas. The female is smaller.

 

A medium-sized deer, rather heavily built for a deer, with a thickset body and legs and rather large feet. The ears are long and wide, resembling those of a mule. The antlers of a mature buck are large and widespread. The summer coat is thin and varies in color from tan to rusty-red. The rump, belly and inside of legs are white. Face and throat are whitish, with a black patch on the forehead and a black bar around the chin. Tail is white with a black tip, and sometimes the base of the tail is brown. The underside tail hairs are not erectile and the tail is not used for signaling. The thick winter coat is brownish-gray. Preorbital, tarsal, metatarsal and interdigital glands are present. The metatarsal glands are about five inches (12.7 cm) in length and located closer to the hock than the hoof. (On a blacktail, these glands are 2-1/2 to 3 inches (6.4 to 7.6 cm) in length and are located about halfway between hock and hoof.)

 

BEHAVIOR Lives in small family groups of does, yearlings and fawns. Bucks are usually solitary, or sometimes in very small bachelor groups. A group is likely to be spread out rather than in close association. The rut begins in October and lasts two months. Dominance fights between males are less competitive than in other deer species, being largely bluff. Fawns (usually two, sometimes three) are born May-June. Life expectancy 8-12 years in the wild, as much as 20 years in captivity.

 

Feeds mainly in early morning and evening, usually resting at midday and night. Primarily a browser, but will graze on occasion. Mule deer are migratory in mountainous areas, summering as high as 8,000 feet (2,400 m), and retreating to lower elevations in winter to avoid deep snows. Migration distances may be 50 miles (80 km) or more. Senses of smell and hearing are acute, vision less so. Able to run 35 mph (56 km/h) for short distances, but unable to maintain speed for long. Bounds away in a series of high leaps when disturbed. Can cover 25 feet (7.6 m) horizontally in a single leap. A very strong swimmer. Main predators are coyotes, but also cougars.

 

HABITAT Adaptable to a wide range of western habitat from prairie to alpine to semi-desert, with a preference for open or semi-open country.

 

DISTRIBUTION Southwestern Canada, and the western United States north of the line established for desert mule deer.

 

REMARKS A large mule deer buck is a superb trophy and a fine game animal, although perhaps less difficult to take than the sneaky, brush-loving whitetail. Hunted mostly by glassing and stalking, sometimes by waiting on stands. Popular lore holds that a jumped mule deer will always stop after 100 yards (90 m) to look back, but hunters should not count on this, as unwary bucks seldom grow old enough to develop trophy antlers.

 

TAXONOMIC NOTES Two subspecies listed by Wallmo comprise the SCI Rocky Mountain mule deer category: hemionus (Rocky Mountain mule deer) and californicus (California mule deer), with hemionus Rafinesque, 1817 having priority. The formerly recognized Inyo mule deer (inyoensis) is no longer considered valid and is included within californicus.

 

STATUS There were millions of mule deer in North America prior to European settlement, but their numbers declined to 500,000 by 1900 after years of market hunting and habitat destruction. Since then, regulation and management efforts have increased numbers to about 5-1/2 million, with an annual sport harvest of 500,000. Populations are secure, and mule deer are expanding their range.

 

Well I googled it and found this information directly on SCI's website. Hope it helps. Yes I am now your google master.

[SunDevil]

I could be wrong but I believe many years ago the G&F transplanted some rocky mtn mule deer down south and they all died. I believe it had something to do with their need for more frequent water.

[billrquimby]

I could be wrong but I believe many years ago the G&F transplanted some rocky mtn mule deer down south and they all died. I believe it had something to do with their need for more frequent water.

 

 

I haven't kept current on its book, but the last I checked, B&C lumped all of the 11 subspecies of mule deer into just three categories: Mule deer, Sitka black-tailed deer, and Columbia black-tailed deeer.

 

In the 1980s and 1990s, when I was a member of SCI's Trophy Records Committee, the panel decided to add "desert mule deer" records, mostly because of the huge antlers SCI members were taking in Sonora. Jack Schwabland of Seattle wrote the record book text that MRL1984 quoted. Because I lived in Arizona and edited the record book, I was asked to research and draw the boundary between desert and Rocky Mountain mule deer in Arizona.

 

I began by drawing an arbitrary line across our state based on my experience and opinion. I then ran my proposal by someone in the AZGFD's big game branch, who said something like, "It's as good as anything." Someone from New Mexico did the same. There was a gap between his line and mine when they reached the AZ/NM border, so I simply moved my line to meet his.

 

There are two mule deer subspecies (some biologists used to say there were three) in Arizona, but exactly where the line dividing their ranges occurs is anyone's guess. As for physical differences that a hunter might detect, desert deer typically are paler and weigh less than Rocky Mountain mule deer. Note that I said "typically." There are exceptions. The same applies to Schwabland's descriptions. Although the antlers of desert mule deer typically are wider and not as high, and their forehead masks typically are smaller than those of the Rocky Mountain race, there always are exceptions.

 

As for introducing Rocky Mountain mule deer from the northern Arizona into southern Arizona, SunDevil is correct. They did not die because of a lack of water, however. The genes they brought to southern Arizona simply were bred into oblivion over time by the resident deer.

 

Early in the 20th century, a few live Rocky Mountain mule deer from the Kaibab were released into the Tucson Mountains and perhaps elsewhere in the region. The reason? Misinformed but influential hunters believed the reason desert mule deer were smaller than northern deer was because they were "inbred."

 

There were not that many of the northern deer translocated, and it has been so long since it happened that any effect on genetics today would be minimal.

 

It would be like breeding a poodle and a spaniel, and then breeding the successive offspring of that mating to poodles for the next 80-100 years. For the first few generations there might be a few "pooniels" and "spanoodles" born, but the spaniel's traits eventually would be lost. No one would ever know there was a spaniel in the woodpile way back when by merely looking at the descendants of that original mating today.

 

Bill Quimby

[AZbowhntr]

And there you have it.

[AZantlerhead]

Thanks fellas , definately answered my question, down to wich side o the highway.

[Coues Archer]

That makes sense!