Can Whitetails and Muleys interbreed

[okcmco]

Hey all. Can white tails and Mule Deer inter breed? What happens???

[Hiawatha]

yes they can cross. Offspring are sterile i believe.

[SRBowman]

Yeah they can for sure! you get some cool looking deer though!

[Manybeards]

>>>> You bet! You can see them regularly anywhere around Newcastle or Sundance Wyoming.

[silverstreak]

I was just going to post on this very thing. I hunted Whitetail Deer from 11/28 to 12/2 east of Salmon Idaho. There are also Mule Deer on the ranch I hunted. I noticed deer with the characteristic white rings around their eyes and white blaze on their chest much like Whitetail. Then they turn around and they have a big white rump just like Mule deer. I saw a buck that was marked this way that had 3 points on each side and the horns were forward like Whitetail.

[skeeter 7MM]

Yes but this occurance is extremely rare, as is the survival of such hybrids in the wild. Determining a hybrid must be done by inspecting the metatarsal gland and DNA testing, notcharateristics we simulate with both species. Really is impossible to say you saw a hybrid with any certainitywithout actually getting your hands on it and testing.

Experts believe the cross comes from aWt buck and Mule doe based on the persuit or chase each species occurs during the rut. In Wt the doe will run and the bucks will pursue until she is precisely ready to be bred. In mule deer the buck doesn't really need to pursue her she moves off a few steps but stays near, she is ready to be bred she allows him with out all the courting a WT buck goes through.They say also the estrus smell is different between the 2 species and it will confuse the other species, making such an event more unlikely.

For more info try searching for an article wrote byJim Heffelfinger on hybrids.