Deer

A couple of days ago, something odd happened, usually the whitetail deer are very skittish around people, if they hear, see or smell you, their tail goes up and they bound away. I was up on the west deck and I noticed a whitetail standing on the ground, it looked up at me but didn't run away. I slowly went into the house and got some crackers, I came back out, expecting the deer to run away at each movement and sound I made. Instead of running off, the deer stayed put, I threw a cracker down at its feet, I expected it to run away, but it started munching down on the cracker. A few minutes later, another whitetail appeared, I threw more crackers and they happily munched away.

A short time later, some mule deer walked up, I didn't know what either group would do, they seemed sort of OK with each other, a little skittish but no one ran away, at least not at first, I threw more crackers down and each group munched on them, eventually the bigger mulies scared the more dainty whitetails away, but not too far, they stayed around to finish off their snack.

This is the first time I saw both whitetail and mule deer together in such close quarters, they usually stick to their own, though there is some interbreeding going on, occasionally you will see a herd of mulies running around and one of them will have smaller than normal ears, I haven't seen as many whitetails so I don't know if the breeding goes the other way as well, though I'm sure it can and probably does.

It was interesting to see the two of them together, that gave me the opportunity to see the differences between them. Their coloring is a bit different, the whitetails have a reddish coat, the mulies have more buff coloring. The tails are different, the whitetails have, well, fluffy white tails, the top is the normal coat color, the underside is fluffy white, the mulies have a less fluffy tail, and it's mostly black. They are about the same size height wise, the mulies are bulkier, they have bigger heads and much bigger ears, their necks are a bit bigger. The whitetails are much more delecate, they have a slender head, much smaller ears and a more slender neck. Both have just about the same leg size (length and width), the feet/hooves looked similar, and the body size is about the same, if there is any difference there, then the mulies would have a bit more bulk. The mulies seem to be the more aggressive of the two, of course this could be because the mulies were young males, had they all been females, it might have been different.


















Wretha

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4 Comments

Lisa said...

I would love it if the deer would stick around long enough for me to catch a picture...

July 2, 2008 8:28 AM

Wretha said...

These deer have such a good life, not much hunting going on, and many of the people who live here feed them.

Thanks Lisa for your comment, I really appreciate it! :)

Wretha

July 2, 2008 11:13 AM

Mayberry said...

We're polluted with white tails where I work. Our facility is located at the northern end of the King Ranch, so that probably helps! They are very "brave" as far as deer go. They gather up at the feeder religiously at 4 PM when it goes off, and we have water troughs for them, which they congregate around frequently. You can drive past them in a truck or a Kawasaki Mule, and they don't even flinch. Most times you have to stop and let them meander across the road, they don't turn and run. They will let you get within about 10 feet of them or so before they "jog" away. They don't run away. Sometimes they just slowly walk away. And if you don't make direct eye contact with them, you can get even closer. Eye contact will send them running.They're bolder at night, I've walked right by several deer laying down in the grass, not 5 feet from me, many times. I didn't make eye contact, and they just layed there watching me as I went by. They never took their eyes off me, but they weren't alarmed in the least.

July 2, 2008 5:15 PM

solarcookingnut said...

Hi Wretha, solarcookingnut here. The deer are beautiful. I do want to warn ya, you will be doing them more harm than good giving them human food. Here where I live, in the state parks, they warn visitors not to feed the deer human food cause eventually, it kills them. Their stomachs/digestive tract is not make like humans, and as they eat more human foods, they become emaciated, fur begins to fall out in patches,become ill and die. If you want to feed them, give them whole kernel corn or seeds like sunflower seeds anything that is natural. The muledeers are pretty we don't have them here that I know of.

Enjoy your friends, but not with human foods.

solarcookingnut

July 7, 2008 11:32 AM