Mule Deer Research Paper

Introduction: Mule Deer once thrived in Western Nebraska, but now their population has gone down due to hunting, predators, and disease. Many people take for granted the wildlife that we have. Mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) once roamed the western United States in the millions (Holechek et al 1982). When the first white man came in the early 1800’s, the number drastically declined. The reason for this is partially due to the Tragedy of the Commons. The tragedy of the commons in early 1800’s referred to the misuse of common property resources by humans (Vandermeer et al 1996). Many people were taking for granted how many mule deer we had, without any hunting regulations, the deer were shot constantly, and were not having enough time to reproduce. However, man was not the only cause for the decline in mule deer (Ballard Lutz Keegan Carpenter and Devos 2001). Coyotes (Canis latrans), mountain lions (Puma concolor), and wolves (Canis lupus) have been known to kill many deer. Studies showed that a mountain lions main diet is deer (Piece Bleich and Bowyer 2000). By early 20th century few …show more content…
The pelage of a mule deer in the summer is thin, wiry hairs and varies from red-brown to tan, while in the winter, the pelage is replaced with blue-gra to gray-brown long, and brittle hairs. Adult mule deer will have a dark dorsal zone, and the rump patch may be white or yellow. Mule deer weigh 70-250 kg., and stands at 80-110 cm tall. A V-shaped mark goes the eyes up, and is more easily distinguished by a male. Most females will conceive at the age of two and gestates for 200-208 days. Most of the mule deer will have their young from June till the end of July. Young fawns have a low stomach capacity, but need a large amount of nutrients to grow efficiently (Halford and Alldredge et al 1978). Fawns have the ability to travel extensive movements in search for food and nutrients (Riley and Dood et al