Mule deer is a beautiful deer that has large, furry ears similar to those of a mule. This grayish- to brownish-colored deer stands about 3 to 31/2 feet (91 to 107 centimeters) high. It has large, branching antlers. The deer has a peculiar stiff-legged gait that enables it to swiftly bound over the roughest trails. Mule deer live from northern Mexico to southern Alaska and Canada’s Yukon, and from eastern North Dakota west to the Pacific Coast. In the Pacific Northwest, mule deer are called black-tailed deer.
Mule deer eat a range of vegetation. Their food includes grasses and the buds, leaves, and twigs of shrubs and small trees. They also may eat agricultural crops. Mule deer are normally active only around dawn and dusk. They may live in herds of 5 to 20 animals. They spend the summer in hills and mountains and the winter in valleys.
