General Information: Rocky Mountain Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus hemionus) are deer of the western mountains. In this widespread subspecies (Nevada to Oklahoma and north into Canada, except not the Pacific coastal region), the rump is mostly tan, and the tail is white with a black tip.

Around Las Vegas, Rocky Mountain mule deer can most easily be seen in the Spring Mountains (Mt. Charleston), but they can be found in all of the higher mountain ranges around southern Nevada from about the Upper Sonoran (Pinyon-Juniper Woodland) life zone up to the Alpine (Alpine Tundra) life zone. Males have antlers that are shed and regrown every year. Mule deer get their name from their over-sized, mule-like ears.

Taxonomy: Order: Artiodactyla (Even-toed Hoofed Mammals); Family: Cervidae (Deer, Elk, Moose, Caribou).

There are 11 subspecies of mule deer. In most cases, the subspecies are difficult to tell apart (except by geography). However, there are obvious differences in the tails of some subspecies: some have black tails, some have white tails, and some have white tails with a black tip.

Technical Description: Height about 3 feet. Antlers (males only) are forked, each fork being equal in size (compare with White-tailed Deer. Coat color tends to be reddish in the spring and gray in the winter. The hooves are in pairs; one pair primarily contacts the ground, and another usually remains slightly off the ground behind the first.

Breeding: Deer breed in the fall (fall rut) and produce 1-2 young (fawns) in the spring.

Diet: Vegetation; browse on shrubs and twigs.

Range: Occur from Nevada to Oklahoma and north into Canada, except not the Pacific coastal region.

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