It was one of those Washington state personalized license plates you wish you had imagined first. I’ve been thinking about it because this is the weekend for which it was created. The weekend before us is the biggest opening weekend among the various openers for wildlife big and small, feathered and furred. The plate read “BUXNDUX.” Perfect.
They will not all be afield, but this weekend will find somewhere around 120,000 Washington deer hunters with licenses in their pockets, and more than 40,000 duck hunters who purchased migratory bird permits. Over the course of the seasons opening tomorrow, among them, they will harvest as many as 40,000 deer and 550,000 waterfowl.
(As an aside, I have long been intrigued by wildlife biology and biologists. I once read the work of a prominent waterfowl researcher whose name was Duckworth Fowler. …but I digress.)
Given that most of our closest hunting is for deer, allow me to focus on those seasons. We have three generally recognized species: mule deer, white-tailed deer and black-tailed deer. Deer being deer, one readily stumbles across various hybrids and subspecies.
Under by-laws and several resolutions of the Reecer Creek Rod, Gun, Working Dog & Outdoor Think Tank Benevolent Association (RCRGWD&OTTBA), I am now duty-bound to share the below information.
White-tailed deer (named for the white underside of their large tails) are largely in our east and northeast counties, and down along the Columbia River. Columbian black-tailed deer (for the black upper side of their tails) are generally along the coast, but wandering over the Cascade crest in a few spots. Rocky Mountain mule deer, or muleys (for their huge ears), are found in much of the habitat east of the Cascades. They are the primary deer we see – and hunt – here in Paradise. Of course, it is never that simple.
Blacktails were long considered to be descendants of ancient love affairs between muleys and whitetails. Over a decade ago, however, biologists apparently identified mitochondrial DNA (tracing mothers) suggesting that mule deer may have actually sprung from a blacktail/whitetail cross. (An interesting introduction to this, and a reference to Valerius Geist’s book on muley life history, will be found at www.blacktailcountry.com/html/blkpage.htm.) Our Department of Fish and Wildlife, however, continues to identify muleys and whitetails as species, and blacktails as subspecies, within a thorough discussion of deer foods and habitats at wdfw.wa.gov/living/deer.html. Other subspecies and crosses are discussed there, too. It is generally agreed that mule deer are the largest and black-tailed deer the smallest of the three.
Given that our local deer are mostly muleys, the RCRGWD&OTTBA Science Education Committee requires the following. Mule deer’s scientific name is Odocoileus hemionus. It is a medium‑sized mammal, from 36 to 40+ inches at the shoulder, weighing 100 to 250 pounds (bucks are largest, of course). Its summer color is reddish, becoming brown‑gray with its longer winter coat. Look for the large ears, a scrawny black‑tipped tail and white rump, and a trademark “bounce” when escaping. Favored foods include shrubs, forbs, alfalfa and fruits.
Locally, we see a couple interesting crosses. First are probably the piebald, or “pinto,” deer, with large white patches (some sort of genetic mutation), occasionally seen down the Yakima Canyon, and rarely up the Taneum. Then there are the “striped‑tails,” on the west side of the valley, up into the Taneum and Manastash areas. These deer look like muleys except for a black stripe running the length of their narrow tails, resulting from a blacktail‑muley relationship.
Over the past 100 years, North American mule deer populations have suffered wide swings in population, with harsh winters, habitat loss and shifting climates. A good summary of issues affecting muleys is found at www.muledeer.org/hunting/mule-deer-facts. You may also find interesting WDFW’s Mule Deer Management Plan at wdfw.wa.gov/conservation/mule_deer/.
In Washington, we generally have well over a hundred thousand muleys, with larger numbers of whitetails and a smaller population of blacktails. Of the more or less 40,000 deer in this year’s harvest – feeding families well for the coming year – one-third will be mule deer, more than a third will be white-tailed deer and less than one third will be black-tailed deer.
In general, over the coming weeks deer will be foraging from dusk to dawn, but may be seen most any time of day as they put on critical fat for winter. You may see mule deer almost anywhere in Paradise, but check out the Yakima Canyon, or drive the back roads up the Taneum or Teanaway, or around Cle Elum and Upper Kittitas County.
Whether you hunt or not, there’s something about finding and watching deer that can change the light in a fall sky.
