Mule deer
Odocoileus hemionus
Mature mule deer bucks have antlers with main beams that sweep outward and upward, forking once and then forking again. Mature bucks typically have 4 or 5 points on each side, often including brow tines. The antlers are shed and re-grown each year.
The gestation period for pregnant does is 189 to 210 days and typically one or two fawns are born to each doe. Twins are common in does after their first pregnancy. Fawns are born in late May through early July.
Statewide Mule Deer Initiative
The Statewide Mule Deer Initiave relies on public involvement to stop the decline of mule deer in Wyoming.
Mule Deer Monitoring Program
The Mule Deer Monitoring program measures the effectiveness of management actions and influences future practices.
Mule deer overview
Learn more about mule deer, their unique characteristics and habitat preferences. Keep reading to expand your knowledge of the mule deer species!
Statewide Mule Deer Initiative
Mature mule deer bucks have antlers with main beams that sweep outward and upward, forking once and then forking again. Mature bucks typically have 4 or 5 points on each side, often including brow tines. The antlers are shed and re-grown each year.
The gestation period for pregnant does is 189 to 210 days and typically one or two fawns are born to each doe. Twins are common in does after their first pregnancy. Fawns are born in late May through early July.
Statewide Mule Deer Initiative and Information
Download mule deer initiativeWorking Groups
This plan culminates in a series of public meetings held in western Wyoming. This public involvement process and resulting management plan is being developed under the direction of the state's Mule Deer Initiative, a statewide framework designed to address declining mule deer populations. During these meetings, we received feedback on what people in attendance viewed as the biggest issues related to mule deer in the Wyoming Rang and what solutions could be used to address those issues. This feedback formed the basis for the draft plan. If you want more information on the public input process, you can explore this page for presentations and meeting notes.
Thanks again for your continued interest in Wyoming's wildlife!
Wyoming Range Mule Deer Initiative and Herd Information
Wyoming Mule Deer Initiative
Wyoming Range Mule Deer Plan Final Draft
Mule Deer Executive Summary
Wyoming Range Mule Deer Habitat Management Plan: Big Piney - LaBarge Area
Wyoming Range Mule Deer Herd: History and Current Status
Wyoming Range Hunters' Attitudes Toward Mule Deer Management
Meeting Minutes
Baggs Mule Deer Working Group Meeting Minutes (March 2017)
Baggs Mule Deer Working LGroup Meeting Minutes (April, 2015)
Baggs Mule Deer Working Group Meeting Minutes (March, 2015)
Baggs Mule Deer Working Group Meeting Minutes (January, 2015)
Baggs Mule Deer Working Group Meeting Minutes (November, 2014)
Baggs Mule Deer Working Group Meeting Minutes (October, 2014)
Baggs Mule Deer Working Group Meeting Minutes (August, 2014)
Meeting Records
Baggs Mule Deer Herd Meeting Record (July 9, 2014)
Baggs Mule Deer Herd Meeting Record BMD_RAWLINSJULY1014_RECORD(Rawlins - July 10, 2014)
Meeting Presentations
Casper Hunt Area 66 Mule Deer Initiative and Herd Information
Casper Hunt Area 66 Mule Deer Initiative
Historic Working Group Meeting Minutes
Season Proposal Bates Hole Hat Six Deer
Casper Area 66 Mule Deer Working Group Meeting Minutes (May 5, 2015)
Casper Area 66 Mule Deer Working Group Meeting Minutes (April 28, 2015)
Casper Area 66 Mule Deer Working Group Meeting Minutes (April 21, 2015)
Casper Area 66 Mule Deer Working Group Meeting Minutes (April 7, 2015)
Casper Area 66 Mule Deer Working Group Meeting Minutes (March 26, 2015)
Casper Area 66 Mule Deer Working Group Meeting Minutes (February 26, 2015)
Casper Area 66 Mule Deer Working Group Meeting Minutes (December 09, 2014)
Casper Area 66 Mule Deer Working Group Meeting Minutes (September 04, 2014)
Casper Area 66 Mule Deer Working Group Meeting Minutes (August 18, 2014)
Casper Area 66 Mule Deer Working Group Meeting Minutes (July 22, 2014)
Factors Affecting Mule Deer
General License Versus Limited Quota Management
In August of 2014, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) implemented the Sheep Mountain Mule Deer Initiative to increase public involvement in the management direction of the Sheep Mountain mule deer herd. Primary goals were to communicate with all interested stakeholders more effectively regarding Sheep Mountain mule deer management and develop a management recommendations document for this herd unit. Recommendations in this document for the Sheep Mountain management are tiered from the statewide Mule Deer Initiative approved by the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission in July 2007.
Management Plan
Sheep Mountain Mule Deer Management Plan
Public Meeting
Sheep Mountain Mule Deer Initiative meeting recording
Historical Working Group Information
Sheep Mountain Mule Deer Meeting Notes (April 28, 2015)
Sheep Mountain Mule Deer Meeting Notes (May 13, 2015)
Sheep Mountain Mule Deer Workshop Notes
Sheep Mountain Mule Deer Working Group Summary
Annual Meeting UpdateHabitat Happenings
Sheep Mountain Mule Deer Initiative Group Overview
Sheep Mountain Mule Deer Initiative Large Carnivore
Sheep Mountain Mule Deer Initiative Introduction
Sheep Mountain Mule Deer Initiative: Nutrition, Habitat and Monitoring
Sheep Mountain Mule Deer Initiative: Objective Review
Sheep Mountain Mule Deer Working Group Mule Deer Initiative
Working Group Information
Lander/Green Mountain Mule Deer Working Group Charter
Lander/Green Mountain Mule Deer Workshop Notes
Lander/Green Mountain Mule Deer Workshop
Working Group Recommendations
Recommendations for the South Wind River and Sweetwater Mule Deer Herd Units-Aug 10, 2015
WGFD's Implementation Plan for the Lander/Green Mountain Working Group's Recommendations-May 2016
South Wind River/ Sweetwater Mule Deer Survey
Meeting Presentations
Lander/Green Mountain Mule Deer Update Presentation
Lander/Green Mountain Mule Deer History of Herd Units Presentation
Lander/Green Mountain Mule Deer Habitat Management Presentation
Lander/Green Mountain Mule Deer Hunting Seasons Presentation
Lander/Green Mountain Mule Deer Workshop Presentation
Meeting Minutes
Lander/Green Mountain Mule Deer Meeting Minutes (August 10, 2015)
Lander/Green Mountain Mule Deer Meeting Minutes (June 10, 2015)
Lander/Green Mountain Mule Deer Meeting Minutes (April 6, 2015)
Lander/Green Mountain Mule Deer Meeting Minutes (March 16, 2015)
Lander/Green Mountain Mule Deer Meeting Minutes (February 24, 2015)
Lander/Green Mountain Mule Deer Meeting Minutes (February 5, 2015)
Lander/Green Mountain Mule Deer Meeting Minutes (January 26, 2015)
Lander/Green Mountain Mule Deer Meeting Minutes (November 10, 2014)
Lander/Green Mountain Mule Deer Meeting Minutes (October 20, 2014)
Lander/Green Mountain Mule Deer Meeting Minutes (September 2, 2014)
Lander/Green Mountain Mule Deer Meeting Minutes (July 23, 2014)
Lander/Green Mountain Mule Deer Meeting Minutes (June 17, 2014)
Wyoming Game and Fish Department's Mule Deer Working Group Publications
Mule Deer Monitoring Program
Challenges + Opportunities
With ongoing population declines, Game and Fish utilizes new technologies and tools to understand declines better, measure the effectiveness of management actions and provide managers and the public with the most accurate information.
State-of-the-art monitoring
Cutting-edge information on harvest and public values
Robust data on herd composition
Disease and nutrition assessments
More reliable information on herd size
Access to data that's accurate and immediately available
Assessments of survival, movement and habitat use
Overview
Learn how this program invests in the future of Wyoming's mule deer.
Mule Deer in Wyoming
Read about the monitoring program at Game in Fish in the September 2023 Wyoming Wildlife magazine.
Focal Herd Updates
Review updates regarding focal herds from the monitoring program.
Mule Deer Overview
Native or nonnative?
Native
Wyoming classification
Big game
Closest relative
White-tailed deer
Scat
Up to ⅞ inches long, pellet-sized and usually with a dimple in one end.
Diet
Herbivore
Top Speed
40 mph
Terminology
Males are bucks, females are does, young are called fawns and a group of deer is called a herd
Mule Deer Population Status
Species of least concern
Lifespan
Typically 9 to 11 years in the wild
Tracks
Height: 1-4 inches long
Width of track: .75-2.5 inches
Stride length: Walking - 13-26 inches | trotting - 29-56 inches
Heart-shaped
Mule Deer Sounds
Mule deer have slight variations in their vocalizations. They may make Low-pitched vocalizations when not disturbed, snorts of alarm and coughed grunts between males.
Mule Deer Habitat
Habitat is the primary factor Game and Fish can affect to help mule deer, which is why habitat is central to the Wyoming Mule Deer Initiative. Mule deer prefer plant communities that are in the early stages of succession. Succession is the process by which plant communities change over time. The last 25 years' extensive and severe drought has reduced the quality and quantity of mule deer habitat, resulting in lower survival rates.
Wyoming's shrublands of sagebrush, mountain mahogany, bitterbrush and other woody plants provide mule deer food and cover for protection from predators and the weather.
Mule Deer Wyoming Distribution
The mule deer’s native range spans throughout western North America, as far north as the coastal islands of Alaska and as far south as Mexico. In Wyoming, mule deer are found from the lower elevation sagebrush deserts and creek bottoms to above timberline in the mountains. Common habitats range from salt desert shrublands to alpine tundra.
Mule Deer Wyoming Population graph
The estimated statewide population of mule deer sits just under 400,000. Also, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department has increased focus on mule deer conservation through the Mule Deer Initiative, which brings together local stakeholders to develop on the ground actions intended to benefit mule deer in select herds.
Mule Deer Where to find and view
Mule deer can be found in nearly all Wyoming habitats. Viewing opportunities are likely near Saratoga, Cody, Kemmerer, or Newcastle in the winter/fall timeframe.
Game and Fish conservation/management efforts
