Blending In
by Marty Fancy
Title
Blending In
Artist
Marty Fancy
Medium
Photograph
Description
The mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) is a deer indigenous to western North America; it is named for its ears, which are large like those of the mule. There are believed to be several subspecies, including the black-tailed deer. However, some genetic studies have indicated that mule deer may have developed relatively recently through the interbreeding of white-tailed and black-tailed deer, which may have evolved from white-tailed deer thousands of years ago. Unlike the related white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), mule deer are generally more associated with the land west of the Missouri River, and more specifically with the Rocky Mountain region of North America.
The most noticeable differences between white-tailed and mule deer are the size of their ears, the color of their tails, and the configuration of their antlers. In many cases, body size is also a key difference. The mule deer's tail is black-tipped, whereas the whitetail's is not. Mule deer antlers are bifurcated; they "fork" as they grow, rather than branching from a single main beam, as is the case with whitetails. Each spring, a buck's antlers start to regrow almost immediately after the old antlers are shed. Shedding typically takes place in mid-February, with variations occurring by locale.
This buck was foraging after a snowstorm in Park City, Utah. His natural coloring was blending perfectly with the sagebrush which is an important food source in the winter. The species is common state-wide in Utah, where it can be found in many types of habitat, ranging from open deserts to high mountains to urban areas. Mule deer often migrate from high mountainous areas in the summer to lower elevations in the winter to avoid deep snow. The mule deer is an extremely popular game animal in Utah; tens of thousands of hunters pursue mule deer in Utah each year.
Uploaded
January 15th, 2014
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Comments (7)
Judy Vincent
Beautiful capture! Congratulations! This will be the “Animals in the Snow” photo of the day on the USA Photographers group home page for 1/13/24!