North Idaho Deer

North Idaho Deer

Hooved Animals

Odocoileus hemionus

Mule Deer

Large “mule” like ears (where they get their name).

Brownish Grey in color.

Have a white rump patch.

Small white tail with a black tip.

The antlers split off from the main branch forming two branches, each branch has 2 or more tines.

*Tine : The pointed branch of a deer's antler.

Identification

Height: 3 to 3.5 feet tall at the shoulder

Length: 4.5 to 7 feet long

Tail: 5 to 8 inches long

Weight: 130 to 280lbs

*Females are smaller than males

Size

Can be found throughout desert regions as

long as food supply and vegetation permits.

Move to higher elevation during summertime.

Move to lower elevation during wintertime.

Also found in mountain forests, wooded hills and chaparral.

*Chaparral: A dense thicket of bushes or small trees.

Habitat

Throughout the entire Western United States.

Range

Herbivores Eat a variety of vegetation.

Including : mesquite leaves, beans, fairy duster, jojoba, cat claw, buck bush and other shrubs and grasses.

Mule Deer have no upper teeth, just a hard pallet.

Diet

White Tail Deer

Odocoileus virginianus

Distinct, long “white tail”.

Smallest Members of the North American Deer.

Reddish brown coats in the summer.

Duller greyish brown in the winter.

Identification

Height: 3-31/2 ft. Length:

Weight:

Male- 75-400lbFemale- 50-250lb

Size

Forests

Swamps

Brushy Areas

Mountains in winter for protection.

Habitat

Southern Canada through United States

Except for most of California, Nevada, and Utah and south to Panama.

Range

Odocoileus hemionus columbianus

Black Tail Deer

Spring/summer: grasses and forbs

Fall: acorns, other mast items, and apples

Winter: twigs and buds from a wide variety of hardwood trees and leaves from conifer trees such as white pine and hemlock.

Diet

Large tail with black brown hairs “Black Tail”

Smaller than mule deer and white tail

Antlers similar to Mule Deer

Almost no rump patch

Identification

Males: weigh from 105 to 200 lb.

Females: weigh between 90 to 140 lb. Males :total length 58 inches- 36 inches high

at the shoulder- 6 1/2-inch tail 8-inch ears Females: total length- 54 inches - 36 inches

high at the shoulder -6 1/2-inch tail - 7 3/4-inch ear

Size

Old-growth forests are important for blacktails, as

the habitat provides shelter and forage, and also stops buildups of deep, heavy snow.

In the southern parts of their range, old growth is less important due to abundant open areas and milder climate. Blacktails are browsers in winter and early spring and then mix in grasses and a wide variety of herbs, as well as browse, in summer and fall.

Winter ranges are often shared with Roosevelt elk.

Habitat

Found in the Pacific Northwest, especially in

Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia.

Range

Tender grasses, new leaves, herbs and the tips

of branches during the spring and summer months. This is the key foraging time for building up essential fat for the fall rut and winter stress periods.

During winter: Douglas fir, trailing blackberry, salal branches, red huckleberry, Organ yew and western cedar.

Diet