Mule deer
Odocoileus hemionus (Rafinesque, 1817)
The mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) is a mammal in the family Cervidae, subfamily Capreolinae, within the order Artiodactyla. It is a large, terrestrial, nocturnal herbivore with a representative adult body mass of 54.21 kg and reported weights up to 112.3 kg.
Quick facts about the mule deer
Gestation lasts 207 days, it has 1 litter per year with 1.6 young per litter, and it reaches sexual maturity at 1.3 years. The mule deer is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category, and its lifespan is given as 22 years.
- Weight
- 54.2 kg – 112.3 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 22 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Herbivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Gestation
- 207 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 1.62src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 15.7 months – 16.5 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Active
- At night (nocturnal)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the mule deer
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
Where does the mule deer live?
Not recorded
What is the mule deer?
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. Two subspecies of mule deer are grouped into the black-tailed deer.
Mule deer are found in the western and central parts of North America. Various subspecies range from the western Great Plains to the Rocky Mountains, the southwest United States and northern Mexico, and the west coast of the continent. Their range is smaller than the related white-tailed deer, which are found throughout most of North America east of the Rocky Mountains and in the valleys of the Rocky Mountains from Idaho and Wyoming northward. Mule deer have also been introduced to Argentina and Kauai, Hawaii.
From the Wikipedia article “Mule deer” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mule_deer&oldid=1377579118), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the mule deer endangered?
The mule deer is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the mule deer classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderArtiodactyla
- familyCervidae
- genusOdocoileus
- SpeciesOdocoileus hemionus (Rafinesque, 1817)
Synonyms Cervus hemionus
Other names and names in other languages (52)
- Black-tailed deerEnglish
- Black-tailed deerEnglish
- Cedros island black-tailed deerEnglish
- Cedros island mule deerEnglish
- Mule and black-tailed deerEnglish
- MuleyEnglish
- أيل بغلArabic
- الأَيِّل الآذَنArabic
- الأَيِّل البغلArabic
- أيل طويل الأذنينArabic
- الأَيِّل مبروم الذنبArabic
- sukatchl
- jelenec ušatýCzech
- Sorthalet hjortDanish
- GroßohrhirschGerman
- MaultierhirschGerman
- SchwarzwedelhirschGerman
- Ωδόκοιλος ο ημίονοςGreek
- Ελάφι της Δυτικής ΑμερικήςGreek
- Hemiona cervoEsperanto
- BuraSpanish
- Ciervo muloSpanish
- Venado buraSpanish
- Venado Mulo(a)Spanish
- Mustsaba-pampahirvEstonian
- Mustsaba-hirvEstonian
- mustahäntäkaurisFinnish
- Cerf muletFrench
- אייל פרדי שחור-זנבHebrew
- öszvérszarvasHungarian
- Cervo muloItalian
- ミュールジカJapanese
- Қара құйрықты бұғыKazakh
- 노새사슴Korean
- Juodauodegis elniasLithuanian
- sqigʷəclut
- Melnastes briedisLatvian
- LentukMi'kmaw
- MulhjortNorwegian Bokmål
- MuildierhertDutch
- Mulak czarnoogonowyPolish
- Veado-mulaPortuguese
- Чернохвостый оленьRussian
- mulasti jelenSlovenian
- мула јеленSerbian
- SvartsvanshjortSwedish
- กวางมิวล์Thai
- Katır geyiğiTurkish
- Katırkulaklı GeyikTurkish
- Американський олень чорнохвостийUkrainian
- memdé:wiWasho
- 黑尾鹿Chinese
Relatives of the mule deer
Other species in the same genus Odocoileus.
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CompareMule deer vs White-tailed deerMule deer vs Yucatan brown brocketMule deer vs Odocoileus speleus
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the mule deer?
The mule deer is a mammal in the family Cervidae and the order Artiodactyla. It is a large, terrestrial animal.
How heavy is a mule deer?
An adult mule deer has a representative body mass of 54.21 kg. Our sources report weights up to 112.3 kg.
What does a mule deer eat?
The mule deer is a herbivore.
Is the mule deer endangered?
No. The mule deer is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
How long does a mule deer live?
The lifespan of the mule deer is given as 22 years.
How many young does a mule deer have?
The mule deer has 1.6 young per litter and 1 litter per year, after a gestation period of 207 days.
When does a mule deer reach sexual maturity?
The mule deer reaches sexual maturity at 490.5 days (1.3 years), with reported values from 478 to 503 days.
What is the scientific name of the mule deer and who named it?
The scientific name of the mule deer is Odocoileus hemionus, with the authority written as (Rafinesque, 1817).
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals · CC0 1.0 · 1.0
Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/mule-deer
“Mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/mule-deer.
@misc{mule_deer_2026,
title = {Mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/mule-deer},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}