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Mule Deer — Part 2
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As time went on and settlers and hunters spread over the great West the mule deer became a familiar animal, distinguished by all from the Virginia deer by its curious gait, its equally forking antlers and its black tail; the latter giving rise over a large part of its range to the name "black-tailed deer," an appellation belonging more strictly to the animal of the Columbia River region of the Pacific Coast. As a game animal it is held by many to be unsurpassed. Mr. A. G. Wallihan says of this species: "For me, at least, there is a charm about the black-tail or mule deer, that no other game possesses. Barring the bighorn, their meat is the best, their hide tans into the best buckskin, and you turn from the large elk or the agile antelope to the graceful beauty of the black-tail buck, and find there the greatest satisfaction. The head of the bighorn is a finer trophy, no doubt, and you are led to grand scenery in the pursuit of him, but it is heart-breaking work. Where you find the black-tail you will find other pleasures, for he delights in the most charming bits of country to be found. He will jump up from the tall weeds and grass among the aspens, so close as to startle you as you ride through them, or will leap into view from the shade of a deep washout far in the desert, where he finds in the feed and surroundings something to suit his taste. He is crafty also, for if he thinks he is hidden I have known him to lie in thick bush until almost kicked out after all sorts of expedients to drive him out have failed. He, has perhaps the keenest scent and the best hearing of all the deer tribe . . . but cannot see as well as the antelope, for I have stood within ten or twenty feet of several passing bands which failed to distinguish me from a stump or rock. Antelope will approach very closely occasionally, out of pure inquisitiveness, but never a deer. If anything moves a deer sees it instantly, but he cannot tell what a still object is."
Varieties of Mule Deer and Allied Species
1. Mule Deer. Odocoileus hemionus (Rafinesque). Description and range as above.
2. Californian Mule Deer. O. hemionus californicus (Caton). Similar, with smaller ears and with a dark median stripe on the tail.
3. Desert Mule Deer. O. hemionus eremicus (Mearns). Paler than any of the other varieties.
4. Cerros Island Deer. O. cerrosensis Merriam. Similar to the Californian variety, but much smaller.
5. Crook's Deer. O. crooki Mearns. Somewhat like the mule deer, but reddish-fawn in colour, tail naked at base beneath.
Columbian Black-tailed Deer
Odocoileus columbianus (Richardson)
Our Pacific coast region is favoured with more distinct kinds of deer than any other part of the Union. Besides a representative of the widespread Virginia deer group, we find there also the larger heavier mule deer and the smaller darker species above described. The black-tailed deer, as seen above, has a very restricted distribution and was unknown to naturalists until the famous expedition of Lewis and Clarke across the Rocky Mountains and into our northwestern territory. These observant naturalists recognized in both this and the mule deer species which were unknown to them and have given in the account of their travels excellent descriptions of both. The black-tail is in many ways intermediate between the mule and the Virginia deer, but has the same peculiarity of gait and much the same style of antlers as the former.
Lydekker writes of this species: "In its general mode of life the black-tail is in some respects unlike the mule-deer, although it resembles the latter in its bounding gait when frightened. Such a fatiguing pace can, however, be maintained only for a comparatively short distance, and the deer consequently soon become blown when they start off in this manner. When starting without being frightened, they run in a more ordinary way, and are then able to hold out for a much longer time, as is also the case with the mule deer. Unlike the latter, the present species is a forest-loving animal, frequently the dense woods of conifers bordering the Pacific Coast, whose deep shade affords ample concealment. . . . The fawns are usually born in May, their number being generally two, although triplets have been recorded. They are more fully spotted than those of the mule deer, the spots themselves being more sharply defined and arranged in more definite longitudinal lines. In these respects the fawns are more like those of the Virginian deer."
Varieties of Black-tailed Deer
1. Black-tailed Deer. Odocoileus columbianus (Richardson). Description and range as above.
2. Sitkan Black-tailed Deer. O. columbianus sitkensis Merriam. Similar, but ears shorter, and basal part of tail above fulvous like the back.
3. Californian Black-tailed Deer. O. columbianus scaphiotus Merriam. Colours paler and ears longer.