Whitetail / Mulie Cross?
12-07-2006, 04:39 PM
#1
Nontypical Buck
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Flushing Michigan
Posts: 2,355
Whitetail / Mulie Cross?
Another post made me wonder about how common these are. Maybe this is a dumb question but we don't have mulies around here so I thought I'd ask.
Anybody got any pics of a whitetail / mule deer cross?
Anybody got any pics of a whitetail / mule deer cross?
12-07-2006, 04:42 PM
#2
Boone & Crockett
Join Date: Oct 1998
Location: Hughesville, PA USA
Posts: 18,322
RE: Whitetail / Mulie Cross?
I understand out where they two cohabitate that it is quite common. They fear the whitetail will out breed the mulie. I also understand that the whitetail buck is more agressive when it comes to persuing the estrous mulie doe and it usually wins when breeding. I understand it to be a problem so I'm interested as well to hear from those living in those areas.
12-07-2006, 05:05 PM
#5
Nontypical Buck
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Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Flushing Michigan
Posts: 2,355
RE: Whitetail / Mulie Cross?
I did some quick google research and I learned a few things.
In captivity, Mule Deer have been mated to White-tail Deer (in both directions), but less than 50% of the hybrid fawns survived the first few months. Hybrids have been reported in the wild but are disadvantaged because they don't properly inherit survival strategies. Mule Deer bound (all 4 hooves hit the ground at once, called "stotting") to escape predators. Stotting is so specialized that only 100% genetically pure Mule Deer seem able to do it. In captive hybrids, a one-eight White-tail/seven-eighths Mule Deer hybrid has an erratic escape behaviour and would be unlikely to survive to breed. Hybrids do survive on game ranches where both species are kept and predators are controlled by man.
In captivity, Mule Deer have been mated to White-tail Deer (in both directions), but less than 50% of the hybrid fawns survived the first few months. Hybrids have been reported in the wild but are disadvantaged because they don't properly inherit survival strategies. Mule Deer bound (all 4 hooves hit the ground at once, called "stotting") to escape predators. Stotting is so specialized that only 100% genetically pure Mule Deer seem able to do it. In captive hybrids, a one-eight White-tail/seven-eighths Mule Deer hybrid has an erratic escape behaviour and would be unlikely to survive to breed. Hybrids do survive on game ranches where both species are kept and predators are controlled by man.
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