They eventually ran into each other and over thousands of years of hybridization, and they created a new species of deer that was perfectly designed to handle that terrain. They are grazers that feed off of hundreds of different plants. A buck whitetail mule deer hybrid. Another indication is their coat. Because mule deer share almost identical mitochondrial DNA as whitetails, it’s suspected that the original mule deer hybrid had a whitetail as a mother and a blacktail as its father. Waiting for deer to come out to places of interest like food sources or bedding areas is much easier than spot and stalk tactics in the thickets.eval(ez_write_tag([[250,250],'omegaoutdoors_blog-large-mobile-banner-2','ezslot_10',116,'0','0'])); As for mule deer, these same strategies may be harder to use due to the terrain they live in. Whitetail bucks will breed with mule deer does, and the offspring usually retain the whitetail characteristics. Omega Outdoors also participates in affiliate programs with other sites. decoy. We use this information to hunt each species in a specialized way, which leads to more successful hunts. Hybrid deer measure somewhere in the middle. The body size of a deer depends on plenty of factors including, nutrition, time of year, age, health, and geographical location. the early 60s, and the argument about that one is probably still I have hunted for over 15 years now, and my goal is to continue to learn as much as I can about hunting and the outdoors and then be able to pass that knowledge onto my readers. Ancestors of the blacktail deer migrated from modern-day Alaska down along the west coast of the modern-day United States. read more If you like my content, subscribe to my weekly update. Sometimes waiting for deer in a tree stand just doesn’t get the job done. You can see how this would also help whitetail out-breed mule deer. All content produced is strictly the opinion of the author. It was just one of those bits of Mule deer are not For around 4 million years they have existed nearly unchanged. However, the top of a mule deer’s tail is the same color as the sides and back of the pelt, down to a small, dark or black tip on the tail. In other words, depending on the location in question, whitetail and mule deer can hybridize readily. was a mule deer doe and the father a whitetail buck. These maps are from deerfamily.com and mt.gov. tier of counties. in my mind theres NO WAY POSSIBLE it was cause out of all the deer … opposite, everything was whitetail except the antlers, which had Ben was hunting over a deer decoy when the buck appeared and he Mule deer have white tails with black tips and it is generally more uniform in size all the way around. The underside of the tail of both species is creamy colored to white, so there isn’t much of a comparison there. This small fact alone keeps this hybrid from becoming its own species. were ideal. For example if a pair of hybrid twins were born, one male, one female, the male would not be fertile and the female could produce offspring that are at best ¼ one species and ¾ the other. knew right away that this was no ordinary deer. This buck is a hybrid. The fawns are hybrids. We have already talked about how whitetail and mule deer have very different attitudes. Omega Outdoors is compensated for referring traffic and business to these companies. With the odd-looking deer and the whitetail buck side by So where the two species share a common range, the whitetail tends to dominate. Mule deer also have forked antlers, which we call “bifurcated antlers”. Reverse mating — mule deer bucks to whitetail does — is rarer. I got this evolutionary information from a really awesome article by Meat Eater that you can check out here. They aren’t named whitetails for nothing, you I am a college student and avid outdoorsmen in the great state of Georgia. Mule deer offer their own set of challenges though, and they can be every bit as hard to hunt as the spookiest whitetail. Your Daily Wisconsin Outdoor News Update – February 26, 2021, Your Daily Minnesota Outdoor News Update – February 26, 2021, Your Daily Wisconsin Outdoor News Update – February 25, 2021, An appalling proposal from the Pennsylvania Game Commission. Whitetail do not do this, they gallop while running like most other animals. Percentages would dwindle from there. The content created by Omega Outdoors is strictly the opinion of the author and is for entertainment purposes only. They evolved into their current form following the ending of the latest ice age. the buck is big enough he can drive off the mule deer bucks and Our place has Whitetail and Mule deer and although I have never done a DNA test I can see with my eyes that some of the does have rather larger ears (whitetail) than some of the others and some of the tails have more black to them. The resulting racks from each of these deer are very different. Whitetail deer are just about the oldest deer that there are. a 7-point rack and let the 9-pointer go or nobody would believe Mule deer are a large species of deer that live in North America. Whereas mule deer travel around hundreds of miles throughout the year. I killed my first deer at the young age of 5 with a .243. Mule deer and whitetails have very similar coat colors during most times of the year but side by side you could tell the difference. Whitetail and mule deer are very similar and from time to time they do interbreed. This color is notably different from mule deer. bucks tend to be much more aggressive and assertive than mule deer bucks. gland. This breeding inefficiency is one of the many reasons that mule deer populations have declined in recent years. It is just a two-week difference but this actually leads to higher birth rates for the overall population of whitetails. Life is good being a mule deer breeder for almost 40 years and it's about time mule deer were looked at because they are way nicer than whitetail in friendliness and have little flight fear going on. Though they share a lot of similarities, you can notice plenty of minute differences in their appearance, their behavior, and the geographic locations they occupy. Their coats are a little bit different in color, and their heads also look slightly different.eval(ez_write_tag([[468,60],'omegaoutdoors_blog-box-3','ezslot_9',107,'0','0'])); Coat color is not a signal you can always use right away. Whitetail deer mate between late November and early December. side, it was easy to see the difference. One of the hunters on that trip was Larry Weishuhn, who like me, Easier said than done. The females will go into heat for a 24 hour period and most go in to heat in November in the northern portions of their range. Following the ice age, these deer suddenly had fewer predators and were able to expand outside of their normal home ranges. When Ben Johnson, a young man from right here in Byron, Minn., So the mule deer soon took over and dominated the area. The most common “direction” of hybridization seems to be between a white- tailed buck and mule deer doe. Mule deer also have a dark forehead. Their “hopping” is the classic fleeing mechanism that people picture when thinking of mule deer. Your email address will not be published. Your leading source for becoming a better hunter, link to Best Stand Locations for Each Rut Phase, link to How to Spot and Stalk Whitetail Deer. If you have any questions or would just like to strike up a conversation feel free to shoot me an email at Patrick.long@omegaoutdoors.net. Mule deer does weigh in between 100 and 220 pounds, whereas white-tailed does come in anywhere from 90-200 lbs. is easy to see that the deer is carrying whitetail and mule deer This is the most popular tactic in places like the Midwest, Northeast, and South because of the thick cover. They are generally the same size. We can do this by climbing up in a tree stand or sitting in a ground blind. We also found out that a new whitetail-mule deer hybrid species is sadly never going to exist, and that is probably because mule deer are already a hybrid of whitetails with blacktail deer. uncommon in some parts of the country. genes, but it is not as distinctive in all hybrids. Douglas sometime back in the 1950s, although some swore it was in In comparison, the top of a black tail’s tail, as the name implies, is almost entirely dark or black. Another semi-funny thing about whitetail and mule deer hybrids is that they seem to inherit both parent’s instincts for predator avoidance. Varies a little bit from deer to deer. first week of November, it caused quite a stir around these parts. My goal is to teach every single one of my readers something new in every piece of content I make. Whitetail bucks will breed with mule deer does, and the offspring usually retain the whitetail characteristics. of Wildlife, mule deer were common but not abundant prior to non-Native Americans settling in the West. Although bucks may travel outside this distance during the rut. Underneath they are bright white and the white-tailed deer uses that bright white tail to signal to other deer that there is danger in the area as they run away. Whitetail live in the lowlands, which have plenty of food and manageable winters. guess I had better get busy and brush up on my anatomy lessons. Except the mule deer doe has a lighter face. Whitetails also have a higher birth rate, their does can often breed … Lastly, whitetail does need to be 6 to 8 months old in order to breed, but mule deer does have to be 18 months old to reach sexual maturity. So here I will dive into everything different between these two species so that you can quickly identify them and become a better hunter. biologist. Most of the mule deer breeders can only produce 150 to 180 inch bucks which is not good enough for the harvest market. Sexual Maturity and Breeding Time Frame: In the case of sexual maturity it is easy to see that female Axis deer are available to be bred 10 months prior to a Whitetail born on the same day. Black tails also tend to be a little darker than mule dee… A number of years ago, I was on a hunt in southeast Colorado While they both look similar, there are certain aspects of their appearance that will be easy to pick out once you know what you are looking for. On Ben’s buck, it To start off, mule deer have much larger home ranges than whitetail do. Though these deer do get their names from their white tails, unlike the mule deer it is not in their scientific name. something other than a whitetail, but Ben, although he is only 24 In general, whitetail have a greyish brown coat, so does the mule deer, but they are slightly different colors. Dakotas, Wyoming, Montana, Nebraska, Kansas, and Colorado, where They tend not to spook as easy as whitetails. Ben was right about people not believing him. Mule deer and whitetail, more or less, eat the same things. Also, mule deer tend to be much more laid back and less jittery. Many deer hunters big ears that this was no ordinary deer. Subsequently, mule deer numbers have historically fluctuated, primarily in response to climatic and habitat conditi… 1988 (p. 1665) found that an F₁ hybrid sired by an O. virginianus male produced mature spermatozoa (though many showed abnormalities), while an F₁ individual from the reciprocal cross produced none. He went to get his This is because whitetails are much more aggressive in their breeding behavior and any mule deer doe that doesn’t run fast enough is going to be bred pretty quick. Doe fawn breeding rates vary widely across states. deer face markings, but whitetail antlers. In the case of whitetails and mule deer, courtship and breeding behavior is different enough that body language and scent cues given off by a female mule deer during rut are not “understood” by a male whitetail and vice versa. This type of deer is polyestrous and is a short day breeder. mule deer, and three were hybrids. Thank you for reading my article about the differences between mule deer and whitetail deer. Although if they do sense danger, they will do their signature “hop” away called sotting which mule deer are known for. Your email address will not be published. Deer herds with access to abundant high-quality forage and light to moderate winters can have breeding in more than 50 percent of their doe fawns. The head of a mule deer and whitetail are very different when you look at them in detail. The closest you could probably come within each species would be with a sheep/goat hybrid. Mule deer have a white patch on their face that goes all the way down to its nose and down the neck. Note the intermediate appearance of the tail. These hybrids may look and act a little funky, but they can survive into adulthood. Mule Deer vs White-tailed Deer – Doe Front View. Mule deer only reside in the western half of the United States and Canada. A more exciting and involved strategy for bagging whitetail is the spot and stalk. ok guys, weird question i know haha but my dad has been thinkin all this time about the buck i shot during october here near roca NE and he thinks that its a cross breed between a mule deer and whitetail. The blacktail and the whitetail are different species. It is almost certain that the buck’s mother The blacktail deer ( Odocoileus hemionus ) split off from the whitetail at some time in the past, thought to be a million years ago or more. Mule deer behave much differently than whitetails. These deer have large ears, which look very much like those of a mule. We can see their physical differences like the coloration in their faces or rear, along with the different formation of antlers in bucks, but we also know about how their behavior differs. The coloration on the face is notably different, as well as the ears. know. the mule deer, or vice versa. breed the mule deer doe. Hybrids are not Plan ahead now for spring 2021 ammo issues, In New York, making a point – and losing one – on new state record buck. It is just a two-week difference but this actually leads to higher birth rates for the overall population of whitetails. There is an obvious physical distinction between mule deer vs. whitetail deer, but how do you properly scout and hunt each species? Some big whitetail bucks are also available, if you see one while hunting for that monster muley. Ben suspected right away that the deer was a mule deer or mule The Mule and Whitetail deer also have similar brown coats making it even that much more difficult for a new hunter. The mule deer rut also occurs during their migration. Whitetail, on the other hand, have brown faces and foreheads with white circles around their eyes and white jaws, as well as some white on their necks.eval(ez_write_tag([[728,90],'omegaoutdoors_blog-medrectangle-4','ezslot_5',109,'0','0']));Mule Deer(Left), Whitetail(right). About then, a 9-point whitetail came over to investigate the believe it was a muley until he saw it himself. The distance between those mountain tops and valleys can easily be over a hundred miles. Mule deer take 7 months to produce a fawn while whitetail deer take only 6.5 months. This is a quick indication of which species the animal is if it is a buck, though you will have to pay closer attention if it is a doe. Whitetail Mule deer and whitetail do not share the same core ranges, though they do overlap. However, between 1935 and 1955 there were more mule deerin the West than at any time since. They have a single main beam that all other points grow from. When the deer turned and Ben saw that the If there was a sudden noise or flash of movement, whitetail are sure to throw up their tail and run a few yards away. Mule deer take 7 months to produce a fawn while whitetail deer take only 6.5 months. They have to travel so much that they are considered to migrate further than any other animal in the lower 48.eval(ez_write_tag([[336,280],'omegaoutdoors_blog-leader-1','ezslot_12',113,'0','0'])); Whitetail are typically fairly skittish animals. Why and when do whitetail bucks shed their antlers? that he actually had seen the deer. a “gimme” for Ben. This video shows some deer that I suspect are hybrids between whitetails and mule deer. The terrain consists of prairie grassland, grain fields, coulees and river bottoms. Also, in many areas where their range overlaps, the rut peaks at slightly different times for the 2 species. Mule deer are identifiable in the way they move, too. When a buck whitetail comes across a mule deer doe in heat, if east as Olmstead County is very rare. Odocoileus Virginianus is the name for the whitetail deer, Odocoileus meaning “hollowed tooth” referring to the tooth structure, and Virginianus meaning “of Virginia”. I have hunted whitetail for my whole life and every now and then I will see deer with more blonde or more red coats, so these rules do not hold up 100% of the time. These big ears will let them hear much farther away, and keep them safe in the rocky mountains. I love hunting whitetail, ducks, and turkey, but most of all I love to learn. Male hybrids are always sterile, although females tend to be fertile and can mate with their parent species. Research done on captive hybrids shows that sotting is so specialized that hybrids are unable to do it. dad, Bruce, to help him drag the deer out, but his dad would not Both of these options keep us from moving around too much and whitetail seeing us. Whitetail deer were expanding out what is now the southeast United States. The 10-yard shot was As with everything else in nature, these rules do not hold true all the time and there is plenty of variation in antler growth, but these are good general rules of thumb. Although in locations where whitetail and mule deer ranges overlap, mule deer tend to be slightly larger.eval(ez_write_tag([[300,250],'omegaoutdoors_blog-large-leaderboard-2','ezslot_4',112,'0','0'])); Deer in general follow Bergmann’s rule, which states that animals farther away from the equator will grow bigger than those close to it. Mule deer does weigh in between 100 and 220 pounds, whereas white-tailed does come in anywhere from 90-200 lbs. Here is a look at their ranges on a map, mule deer are on the brown and blue map, and whitetail deer are on the purple map. Plus, learning everything you can about the topic is the only way to become a better hunter. The blacktail deer then split off a subspecies, the mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus hemionus), which is the youngest living deer species, arising 10,000 years ago. eight of us hunting. You now know that they occupy different regions of North America and respond very differently to threats. The gestation period for whitetail deer lasts six and a half months. When these hybrids do make it to adulthood, they tend to have the tail of a whitetail but with a black or dark brown top, but can also have a regular mule deer tail. years old, is a seasoned hunter and he knew as soon as he saw those So they do not have to move very much to find food no matter what time of year it is. The ears are the next giveaway, especially if you are looking at a doe. Required fields are marked *. Female whitetail deer can breed as young as six months old. Due to the amount they move and their decreasing numbers it can be harder for mule deer to find and successfully mate a doe. or a hybrid is shot nearly every season somewhere in the western Mule deer can sport ears over 10 inches long, while whitetails only measure about 7 inches, maybe 8 if they’re really pushing it. Whitetails don't do that. While they look like their relative, the whitetail deer, this species lives mostly in the western United States. Mule deer have absolutely giant ears while whitetails have something a little bit more modest. White Tail Deer White tail deer can be found in the U.S and even in South America. Mule deer, on the other hand, spend their summers in the mountain tops and winters in the valleys, chasing the best food available, and warmth at lower elevations during the winter. Wishart et al. On Ben’s buck, it is easy to see that the deer is carrying whitetail and mule deer According to the Colorado Div. all that uncommon in western Minnesota. information that did not seem worth remembering. Mule deer are slightly more accepting to hunters and pressure. Mule deer have a rather large white patch on their butts and their tails are white with a black tip on the end. I think it mostly has to do with the habitat that they live in. The hybrids were easy to spot. where both mule deer and whitetails share the range. Which in this case are dramatically different. Conversely, deer herds exposed to poor habitat or severe winters often have less than 5 percent of their doe fawns reach the threshold weight and breed. It is generally accepted that mule deer are a result of thousands of years of hybridization between the whitetail deer, and the coastal blacktail deer. taking a hybrid deer will not turn any heads. Unlike the whitetail, mule deer do not have bushy tails, their tails are almost rope-like and thin and are not used as a danger signal like whitetail tails are.eval(ez_write_tag([[580,400],'omegaoutdoors_blog-banner-1','ezslot_11',111,'0','0'])); Whitetail deer have a brown rear end with white coming up from their bellies and legs. There are places in the One of the telltale differences between the two is their tail… see what I did there? Yes they can, I was watching a hunting show once where a guy shot a whitetail/mule deer, its body and ears looked like a mule deer but its rack didn't have the split tines like mule deer. He confirmed that the three bucks were all hybrids. going back and forth around the tables at KJ’s Cafe. Not as you are implying. Mule deer breeders are at least ten years behind whitetail breeders in the production of good quality stock. The whitetail deer has more of a reddish hue to its coat.eval(ez_write_tag([[250,250],'omegaoutdoors_blog-medrectangle-3','ezslot_0',108,'0','0'])); And during the summer whitetail shed their fall coats in favor of a lighter, even redder, summer coat. If you have the angle, the rear of the deer can also give you an insight as to which species it is. One, like Ben’s deer had a mule deer tail, mule deer ears, mule So where the two species share a … Mule deer … has gone and shot a hybrid buck practically at my back door, I whitetail all the way. I forget now, if it is bigger on the whitetail than it is on 4. We took eight bucks. A whitetail deer can easily spend its life inside a square mile. that distinctive mule deer fork to them. The reason for this is their diets and the climates they live in. Shop our online store for products and gear: Print of the Year, Outdoor News History Book, Outdoor News Clothing and more! Congratulations Ben on a fine and unique trophy buck! Reverse mating — mule deer bucks to whitetail does — is rarer. This commonly occurs on a mule deer when they do not produce G3s (no back forks), which results in a whitetail-ish-looking 8-point rack. There were Another was just the Whereas white-tailed deer cover nearly the entire North American Continent, and parts of South America as well. Keeping this in view, can whitetail breed with mule deer? While some of this information got into the trivia category, being able to tell the difference between these two deer will keep you out of trouble with the game warden if you are hunting areas that have both. Mule deer, on the other hand, have only existed for around 10,000 years. Mule deer and whitetail deer also grow their antlers differently. Mule deer have absolutely giant ears while whitetails have something a little bit more modest. But for a mule deer or hybrid to make it as far tail was small with a black tip, he knew that the buck in front of Both black tails and mule deer have pelts that vary from brown to golden brown in the summer and grayish in the winter. Many incorrectly use antler characteristics as a determining factor in declaring a hybrid. They have fawns, could just be a coincidence though. where I live shot a mule deer buck while bowhunting during the Old timers could remember one other mule deer being shot out around Mule deer have much larger ears than their whitetail cousins. While we can see how whitetail and mule deer are very similar, they are also quite different. The second reproductive difference between these species is their gestation period. I'm Patrick Long, the guy behind Omega Outdoors. Although if you are looking at mule deer doe, their faces look different than the bucks. It seems that a mule deer A popular form of mule deer hunting is spot and stalk. They have the instincts to dart away and also hop, but they wind up jumping around in confusion and not really going anywhere. Since then i have hunted nearly every year. bucks tend to be much more aggressive and assertive than mule deer If you have any other questions about the differences in mule deer and whitetail deer or just want to connect, feel free to email me at Patrick.Long@omegaoutdoors.net. Although true hybrids are very rare in the wild and most hybrids do not make it to adulthood. They were abundant in the late 1800s but scarce during the initial decades of the 20th century. The face markings, the ears and the tail If they decide that something is a real threat they will quickly throw up their tail and dart through the woods until they are nowhere near the danger. Their antlers tend to look more like whitetail antlers. Hybrid deer usually have a dark brown tail similar to whitetails, but much darker. are all distinctively mule deer, but the antler configuration is Whitetail grow their antlers very differently. Their faces look much like whitetail faces, with near-identical markings. him was no whitetail. Generally, mule deer have larger antlers than whitetail do. For example purposes only let’s say both animals were born on April 1st 2018. When a buck whitetail comes across a mule deer doe in heat, if the buck is big enough he can drive off the mule deer bucks and breed the mule deer doe. Some can even produce fertile offspring of their own. Therefore, scientists believe that the mule deer is relatively new to the biological landscape—the product of crossbreeding by an east coast deer and a west coast deer. Whitetail being more skittish makes us hunt them differently than we would a mule deer. Body size alone is not a factor we can use to separate mule deer and whitetail deer. Three were whitetails, two were So where the two species share a common range, the whitetail tends to dominate. Whitetail bucks will breed with mule deer does, and the offspring usually retain the whitetail characteristics. The mule deer’s scientific name is Odocoileus hemionus, which means (according to Conserve Nature.org) “hollowed toothed half-ass”. The whitetail rut can be an incredibly exciting time for deer hunters who understand the nuances of buck behavior. Whitetails also have a higher birth rate, their does can often breed their first fall at 6 months of age. For starters, whitetail deer have their rut from November to about early December, and Mule deer have their rut only during the month of November. They are different species entirely so a mating would not be possible, it’s not like a donkey and a horse in that way. The ears of a mule deer are where they get their name from as well. makes his living as a writer, but he’s also a trained whitetail So we sit and wait for a whitetail to present a shooting opportunity while staying undetected. A trait that is sure not to lead to survival or offspring if they could have them. Because whitetails are so keyed in to human hunting activities, most whitetail hunters employ ambush and stand hunting tactics to kill them. They do not spook as easily. Their coloration can vary greatly but they tend to look more like mule deer. I hope you enjoyed it and learned something you didn’t already know. So he did. The fawns are hybrids. Snow fell early in the hunt and conditions Whitetail focus on speed and darting away as fast as possible to put distance between them and the threat, whereas mule deer use sotting to get away. probably would not even have recognized that they were looking at This is why Florida whitetail deer are much smaller than the Canadian giants. Reverse mating — mule deer bucks to whitetail does — is rarer. The tops of their bushy tails are also brown until they raise them up. It is worth saying that coat colors will vary depending on location, genetics, and other unknown factors. This video is from the Yakima River Bottoms in Eastern Washington. Larry did some measurements of the metatarsal gland, which is that You can differentiate them from their whitetail cousin by looking at their ears. Most deer are taken at about 200 yards or so, though some longer shots on both mule deer …