The large external ears (or pinnae) of the deer work somewhat like a satellite dish. They help to amplify the sound (just like cupping your hands behind your ears), but because they can move independently of each other they also help the deer evaluate what is happening in all directions.
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Why do deer have big ears?

The large external ears (or pinnae) of the deer work somewhat like a satellite dish. They help to amplify the sound (just like cupping your hands behind your ears), but because they can move independently of each other they also help the deer evaluate what is happening in all directions.

Do mule deer have big ears?

Mule deer are usually a dark gray-brown, with a small white rump patch and a small, black-tipped tail. Their large ears are distinctive.

How big are mule deer ears?

On the average mature mule deer buck, with its ears in an alert position, he will have an ear span of 20 to 22 inches tip-to-tip. But I have measured large specimens with ear tip to tip spans up to 26 inches.

What is special about the deer ears?

Deer Hearing A deer’s hearing, being far superior to that of a human, can easily detect the faintest of sounds. In fact, it is believed that a deer’s hearing is so sensitive that it can determine how far away a sound was made. … The ears of a deer are vital in helping it avoid danger.

Can mule deer and whitetail cross?

Whitetail bucks will breed with mule deer does, and the offspring usually retain the whitetail characteristics. Reverse mating — mule deer bucks to whitetail does — is rarer. So where the two species share a common range, the whitetail tends to dominate.

Are mule deer bigger than whitetail?

While it’s hard to determine size and weight in the field, in Colorado, mule deer tend to be a bit bigger and weigh in a little heavier than white-tailed deer. … The mule deer stands three to three and a half feet tall at the shoulder, with bucks weighing 125-250 pounds.

Are mule deer friendly?

When deer become habituated to the presence of humans, they lose their natural wariness of humans. Although deer may look cute and harmless, they can become very aggressive to people and dogs, according to Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW).

Can a bobcat eat a mule deer?

Bobcats are known for mostly hunting smaller animals, like rabbits, mice, and other varmints, but large bobcats will occasionally take down an adult deer.

Do mule deer chew their cud?

Their four chambered stomachs and this act of chewing the ‘cud’ allow them to derive nutrition from the woody plants they eat (like willow and even cedar). … You can watch the deer swallow one load and bring up a new load to process.

What is considered a big mule deer buck?

A mule deer buck that approaches 180 points will probably be fairly mature, with long beams, good points, and likely decent mass. For all but the most selective die-hard hunters, a mule deer buck in the 170s is a big buck and an attainable goal.

What makes a trophy mule deer?

Scores above 145 points would indicate a trophy mule deer buck. The Pope and Young Club accepts typical scores greater than 145 points and non-typical scores greater than 170 points. The Long Hunters accepts typical scores greater than 146 points and non-typical scores greater than 175 points.

What does a 180 deer mean?

English translation: bucks (male deer) with antlers measuring 180 inches or more. … If the symbol ” means inch, 180” would be 4.572 meters, that’s too long for one buck (a male deer). If it means a group of bucks, it sounds weird by describing in this way.

What is mule deer favorite food?

Grasses and grain crops are choice foods for mule deer. The green forage of bluegrass, cheatgrass, needlegrass and other grasses, oats, rye, and wheat are attractive wherever available in late fall, winter, and early spring.

Do female mule deer have antlers?

Mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) are a common deer species of the western United States. … Male mule deer, called bucks, have forked antlers which they use as weapons to fight off competitors for mates during the breeding season or “rut”. Females do not have antlers.

What are 5 facts about deer?

  • Male deer are called bucks. …
  • A group of deer is called a herd.
  • Male deer grow antlers every year. …
  • Does (female deer) have one or two babies in the spring or early summer. …
  • Bobcats, coyotes, and mountain lions prey on deer. …
  • Deer can run up to 30 miles per hour to escape.
Can Moose and deer mate?

No, that is not possible,” he says without hesitation. Although moose and elk are both deer species, the chances of the two reproducing are slim to none. “Elk and moose belong to different subfamilies of deer—genetically very far apart and totally incompatible.”

Why do mule deer not have brow tines?

A small percentage of bucks are genetically programed to not produce brow tines. That doesn’t mean such bucks will pass along this trait because antler potential is strongly linked to the does genetic contribution! We never know the pedigree of wild deer.

Can deer breed with antelope?

Hybrid DEER AND ANTELOPE. There are a wide variety of Antelope hybrids recorded in zoos, this is generally due to a lack of more appropriate mates in the enclosure. … A mating between a male Eland and a female Kudu produced a sterile male hybrid that resembled the Eland.

Are mule deer more aggressive?

Whitetails are much more aggressive than mule deer. It’s often said that, despite the mule deer’s size advantage, a whitetail will win a fight between the two nine times out of 10.

Do mule deer taste good?

I don’t discern much difference in taste between the two and feel a good mule deer is every bit as good eating as a whitetail. The only thing I have noticed is that in the rut, mule deer bucks seem to be gamier smelling than a whitetail buck and the meat can be stronger tasting when they are rutting hard.

Can a deer mate with an elk?

Elk and red deer can have fertile offspring, often a strong indicator that two animals belong to the same species. … If the animals escape from their confinement, as is sometimes the case, they can mate with wild elk creating a hybrid offspring that can threaten the purity of wild elk herds.

Do mule deer eat cacti?

These studies confirm that mule deer feed primarily on woody plants including browse (leaves and twigs) and mast (fruit, beans and berries). Mule deer also make heavy use of cactus and other desert succulents such as lechuguilla, yucca, sotol and candelilla.

What are mule deer predators?

Mule deer are prey for many large predators of western North America. In the western U.S. and Canada, those predators are primarily mountain lions, coyotes, and bobcats, although black bears, wolves, grizzly bears, and feral dogs will also take mule deer.

Where do mule deer bed down?

Mule deer often bed down on the leeward side of any roll in the topography, so keep this in mind as move across the land.

Will bears eat wolves?

Bears – be it grizzlies, black bears or polar bears – are all known to attack and eat a wolf should the opportunity arise. Since wolves are known to thrive in a number of climates and parts of the world, they can be found in both in close proximity of grizzlies, black bears, and polar bears.

Do coyotes eat deer?

Coyotes kill deer. … Coyotes will scavenge deer carcasses any time of the year (1) and usually have deer hair in their scat, but they primarily hunt deer during the spring and the winter in areas with snow. There is some evidence of coyotes hunting adult deer in areas without snow, but this is not well documented.

Do bears eat possums?

Bears are opportunistic. If they find dead possum on the ground that’s not too decayed and are hungry, they will eat them. If they are extra hungry such as post hibernation, they might even eat an extra decayed carcass they find.

What animal has 800 stomachs?

Etruscan shrewPhylum:ChordataClass:MammaliaOrder:EulipotyphlaFamily:Soricidae

How many stomachs do mule deer have?

Deer have a four-chambered stomach. The first chamber, called the rumen, is for storage. The rumen allows for the deer to gather a lot of food at once and then digest it later. The deer bring the food back up into their mouth and Page 2 chew it again.

How many stomach Chambers does a deer have?

Whitetail deer are ruminant (cud-chewing) animals with four chambered stomachs. When deer feed, they tongue food to the back of their mouths and chew just enough to swallow. After a deer fills its paunch, it lies down to chew its cud.

What is the biggest mule deer ever shot?

  • SCORE: 226 4/8.
  • LOCATION: Dolores County, Colorado.
  • HUNTER: Doug Burris, Jr.
  • OWNER: Cabela’s, Inc.
  • DATE: 1972.
At what age do mule deer get antlers?

For mule deer and whitetails, that generally means an antler growth peak occurring at 5.5 years of age or older. For elk, full growth potential may not be reached until over 10 years of age. The buck on the left is mature to post mature and has a smaller rack.

Which state has the most mule deer?

Colorado is widely regarded as the nation’s top mule deer destination. Due to extremely good mule deer habitat with plenty of food and sound management practices by Colorado Parks and Wildlife, the state has the largest mule deer population in the country.

Do brow tines count on a mule deer?

Include brow tines in your point count for a whitetail deer rack. Brow tines are not included in a mule deer rack point count.

How far apart are mule deer ears?

On average, mule deer ears tip-to-tip are 19-22″ apart. If you use the ears as a guide to judge antler spread, you can get in the ball park with a guesstimate.

Do you count the eye guards on a mule deer?

Answer: Eye guards are not counted as points for the purpose of reporting mule deer. A 4×4 may also have eye guards in addition to the 4 main points on each side.

How old is a 10 point buck?

To provide parameters, a ten-point buck is considered mature around three and a half to fours of age and in its prime from six years and older. In heavily hunted areas it is rare to find the buck in the eight-year-old age group but it is possible.

What is considered a trophy buck?

The term “trophy buck” has been around about as long as black powder. Or maybe a lot longer, since big antlers have been found in prehistoric campsites. … But what do veteran hunters call a trophy. To most, it is probably a deer with antlers that score over a certain minimum.

Which state has biggest deer?

  • #1 – Wisconsin. Wisconsin is the #1 ranked state with 1,822 total entries and six counties in the top 20 U.S. counties with the most records produced. …
  • #2 – Illinois. …
  • #3 – Iowa. …
  • #4 – Minnesota. …
  • #5 – Ohio. …
  • #6 – Kentucky. …
  • #7 – Missouri. …
  • #8 – Kansas.
Do mule deer eat rabbitbrush?

The forage value of rubber rabbitbrush varies greatly among subspecies and ecotypes. In some locations, it can be an important browse species for mule deer, pronghorn, and jackrabbits during fall and winter. … Rabbitbrush was first tested as a source of high quality rubber during World War II.