Quiet and statuesque, both mule and white-tail deer are
difficult but exciting to see. When startled, the white-tail deer's "flagging"
of its large white tail is distinctive.
Description: Mule deer (left) are usually a dark gray-brown,
with a small white rump patch and a small, black-tipped tail. Their large ears
are distinctive. White-tail deer are tan in color, with a larger tail. Antlers
on mule deer tend to be larger than white-tail deer and rise up over the head;
the prongs are also forked. Prongs of white-tail antlers are single, and grow
off the main tine; they tend to grow forward towards the eyes. Average weights
are 225 and 125 pounds (mule deer buck and doe) and 125 and 80 pounds
(white-tail buck and doe).
Habitat: Mule deer inhabit forests, desert shrub
lands, plateaus, brushy areas, and rocky uplands between 100 and 10,000 feet in
elevation. They are found statewide except the extreme southwest corner of the
state. White-tail deer inhabit moist canyons, brushy and mixed woodlands, and
forest edges between 4,000 and 10,000 feet in elevation in the central and
southeast portions of the state.
Food Preferences: Mule deer feed on
oak mast, cacti fruit, mesquite beans, mushrooms, yucca flowers, aspen,
juniper, cliffrose, sagebrush, coffeeberry, weeds, and miscellaneous shrubs.
White-tail deer (above - right) feed on shrubs, mast, grass, mistletoe, weeds,
and cacti fruit in season.
Breeding notes: Mule deer usually
breed November-December; white-tail in January. Mule deer fawns are born in
June-August; white-tail fawns in August. The average number of fawns per doe
(both species) is two.
Predators or Enemies: White-tail:
Mountain Lion, Bobcat, Eagle, and Coyote Mule Deer: Coyote, eagle, and
mountain lion.
Distribution: White-tail 4,000-10,000 feet in the Central
and southeast mountains of Arizona. Mule Deer: 9-10,000 feet, found
statewide except extreme southwest corner of Arizona.
Description: Mule deer (left) are usually a dark gray-brown,
with a small white rump patch and a small, black-tipped tail. Their large ears
are distinctive. White-tail deer are tan in color, with a larger tail. Antlers
on mule deer tend to be larger than white-tail deer and rise up over the head;
the prongs are also forked. Prongs of white-tail antlers are single, and grow
off the main tine; they tend to grow forward towards the eyes. Average weights
are 225 and 125 pounds (mule deer buck and doe) and 125 and 80 pounds
(white-tail buck and doe).
Food Preferences: Mule deer feed on
oak mast, cacti fruit, mesquite beans, mushrooms, yucca flowers, aspen,
juniper, cliffrose, sagebrush, coffeeberry, weeds, and miscellaneous shrubs.
White-tail deer (above - right) feed on shrubs, mast, grass, mistletoe, weeds,
and cacti fruit in season. 
Information courtesy Arizona Game & Fish Department, Region
1-Pinetop,AZ