A Deer is a Deer – Or is it

One of the first mammals I saw upon arriving at Point Reyes National Seashore was a deer. I see them daily on my commute to work. And, they often graze near my apartment. A couple of hours ago, two small bucks were grazing within 20 feet of my living room window. But these are different deer than what I am used to seeing.

Essentially, there are two species of deer in the USA; White-tailed Deer and Mule Deer. The deer here are a sub-species of the Mule Deer and are referred to as the Columbia Black-tailed Deer or Columbia Blacktail Deer. Of course, when I first referred to them as Mule Deer, I was “politely” corrected. I was told to call them Black-tailed Deer.

There definitely is a size difference between the Mule Deer in the Rocky Mountains and this subspecies. Mule Deer bucks typically average 180 to 280 pounds, with bigger bucks as high as 350 pounds. By contrast, the Black-tailed Deer bucks average around 100 to 150 pounds. For those of you familiar with White-tailed Deer, the bucks typically weigh 150 to 175 pounds.

Black-tailed Deer doe nursing fawn while grazing; taken in late June. Sony a9 + 100-400mm lens & 1.4x teleconverter @560 mm, ISO 640, f/8, 1/640s. ©Stanley Buman. All Rights Reserved.
Black-tailed Deer doe grazing with fawn nearby. This doe and fawn have been hanging around the lighthouse apartments since I arrived. The wild hair sticking up on the fawn makes it easy to identify. Sony a9 + 100-400mm lens & 1.4x teleconverter @165 mm, ISO 400, f/8, 1/640s. ©Stanley Buman. All Rights Reserved.
Black-tailed Deer buck shedding velvet from its antlers. Sony a9 + 100-400mm lens & 1.4x teleconverter @399 mm, ISO 400, f/8, 1/200s. ©Stanley Buman. All Rights Reserved.
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