mix breed
 

have any of you seen the mix breed? my dad shot a buck last season that had a mule deer body with a whitetail rack. i've heard that the whitetail bucks were more aggresive than the mule deer bucks but i don't know. this may have something to do with it. the whitetail population where i hunt use to be none! now we regularly see the whitetails and very very few mulies. their spreading like wild fire.

RE: mix breed
 

yes I seen some.i was told years ago they wont breed together. Well quess that aint true

RE: mix breed
 

In the case of whitetails and mule deer, courtship and breeding behavior is different enough that body language and scent cues given off by a female mule deer during rut are not "understood" by a male whitetail and vice versa. Also, in many areas where their range overlaps, the rut peaks at slightly different times for the 2 species. This system of species segregation has worked remarkably well throughout their evolutionary coexistence. However, in rare cases this system breaks down and genetic material slips across the behavioral barrier, resulting in a deer that is half whitetail and half mule deer. This hybridization between the two different deer species is extremely rare but does occur throughout the West where their ranges overlap.

RE: mix breed
 

i've seen some pics of a mixed but i've never seen one in person.

RE: mix breed
 

I have not seen it but have been told that it is a more and more common occurrence.

RE: mix breed
 

does anybody got any pics of what one looks like?

RE: mix breed
 

here's a link to a full story on the issue as well as some pics.

http://www.deertracking.com/library/dec2001_tails_dark_side.html

RE: mix breed
 

Ask the guys in the West Forum, they have probably come across this especially in Colorado and Wyoming where both species are prevalent.