Animal Spotlight: The Mule Deer

*He's got a little hat*

About a year and a half ago I did a post about Striped Skunks. At the time I mentioned that I would occasionally do post about animals that I was interested in at the time, or animals I feel are just not very well known or are misunderstood. My whole life I have been fascinated with deer, so I would like to do a post about my favorite, the Mule Deer.

The Mule Deer is probably one of the most commonly seen larger mammals in western North America, and it is probably one of my all time favorite animals. I love watching them and getting to know individuals in their family groups. This year I have been able to spend a lot of time with a family group of 5 Mule Deer somewhat close to home. It has been awesome getting to know them and watching their comfort levels with me increase over time.

*Mule Deer have those BIG ears*

Mule Deer have a few basic characteristics that make them fairly easy to identify when compared to other deer species. First off, they have very large ears (kinda like a Mule's, hence the name) which are almost always moving. They have a white tail with a black tip, in winter their fur turns a pale gray color whereas in summer their fur is almost red.

*Winter social group*

A Mule Deer's diet consists of various leafy plants, grasses, berries and in winter, twigs from various trees and shrubs. Male Mule Deer migrate to higher altitudes in the summer, sometime forming groups. In late autumn to early winter males will descend for "the rut" (this is where they fight for the ladies, but very rarely are they actually hurt), after which they may form groups made up of both males and females. Females generally stay at lower altitudes year-round and form small family groups, these usually include a mother, a pair of yearlings and new babies (usually twins, sometimes 1 or 3 fawns are born).



*You can see the "velvet" covering the antlers*

*Forked antlers*

Males grow antlers which are usually pretty symmetrical. Their antlers fork as they grow unlike White-tailed Deer whose antlers grow off of one main beam. Antlers are shed yearly, usually around February, once shed they begin to grow again. Unlike horns which are made of keratin, antlers are made of bone.

I hope I didn't bore you with my fascination for the Mule Deer. It really is a magnificent animal that I have grown to admire and love. If you ever have an opportunity to just sit and watch them, I advise you take it.

Enjoy the season

*Destination*

*The path less traveled*

I am very unfortunate when it comes to my conversational skills. I acknowledge that I do not hold a conversation well, especially with people I don't know. To add to my misfortune, my job requires me to sit down with multiple strangers on a daily basis, occasionally for extended periods of time. These two things put together have led to many an awkward "conversation" about the weather and whatnot. I live in central Utah and I am actually quite surprised at how many people I meet that just hate the Winter season and the weather that comes with it. Everyday I hear people complaining about the snow and how they have nothing to do because it keeps them indoors, to those people I say, GET A LIFE! Yes, with Winter comes cold temperatures, scraping your windshield and shoveling the sidewalks. But you also get a whole new list of epic activities that you can't do the rest of the year. Trails that you have hiked dozens of times are suddenly transformed. The mountain bike and hiking boots get put away and the skis, snowboard and snowshoes come out from hibernation. There is so much to do during this wonderful season, get out there and live it up, you will enjoy it so much more!

*The wind coming over the peak was whipping the snow all around*

This season I've been able to get in some good camping trips and some excellent snow-shoeing expeditions. This weekend I was able to get out for one of my adventures. Moonlit hiking, set up camp and sleep, wake up, breakfast, read in sleeping bag because it's warm, pack up with frozen fingers, climb to top of mountain, climb down, enjoy every second!