Facts
- Native to western North America
- Browser rather than grazer; primarily eats shrubs
- Crepuscular (dawn and dusk active)
- Rutting (mating) begins in October
- Fawns are born in April-June
- Excellent swimmer
- Two-toed ungulate (hoofed animal)
- Bony antlers in the male
- Antlers shed annually
- Long and mobile ears
- Ruminants-digest food like a cow
People and Mule Deer
- Natural predators of deer have been reduced in numbers (mountain lions, coyotes)
- Populations decline due to fragmentation, degradation, or destruction of habitat caused by urban expansion and human interaction
- Imprinting of fawns to humans: Imprinting on a person can lead to future association with people after release and lack of interest in breeding with its own kind; usually leads to the animal's death
How to Coexist
- Plant trees and shrubs that are deer-proof. To get a list of deer-resistant trees and shrubs, write to the Resources Agency of CA Department of Fish and Game.
- Hang bags of human hair in trees and shrubbery that you don't want deer to consume.
- Be alert and drive carefully in areas where deer are likely to be present.
- If you see a fawn lying still on the ground or walking around without its mother, leave it where it is.
- If the situation is such that you feel the fawn's mother has been killed, call CWC.
- Do not ever try to take a fawn home to raise it yourself.
