The difference between a mule deer and a whitetail deer

“My heart's in the Highlands, my heart is not here. My heart's in the Highlands a chasing the deer; Chasing the wild deer, and following the roe; My heart's in the Highlands, wherever I go.” Robert Burns author and poet 1759-1796 

The more I see of deer, the more I admire them. They make their way into the heart of the roughest country, across canyons, streams, valleys and fields, showing their strength and beauty.

Like many hunters, my early big game experience revolved around the whitetail deer that live on small farms, creeks and hills in the mid-west. Later, when I moved northwest to North Idaho, I became a die-hard lover of mule deer and the rugged, mountainous country where they live.

These days, I manage to photograph both species every year, often in places where both whitetails and mule deer co-exist. While there’s some general similarities, shared behavioral traits, and habitat overlaps, they are very different animals.

The mule deer gets its name from its overly large ears; its Latin name, Odocoileus hemionus, which means “half mule.” Whitetails are Odocoileus virginianus—the latter part of that title referring to when the species was once known as the “Virginia deer.”

While mule deer get their common name from those big mule-like ears, whitetails get theirs from the completely white underside of their overly-large tail. At first glance, however, when you look at the rear end of a mule deer you see mostly white, which is a very large rump patch of white that’s only partially covered by a rope-like, white tail with black tip. Whether a mule deer’s tail is up or down, you can always see plenty of white on the rump. Conversely, a whitetail’s tail normally covers most of its narrow white patch with a thick, dark tail that can be raised to alert others to danger.

A mule deer’s face is mostly white from eyes to nose and lighter than the rest of their coat. A whitetail’s face is primarily brown and similar in color to the rest of its coat. While there is a lot of color variation between individual deer, the mule deer face is mostly white from the nose to the eyes, whereas the whitetail’s face is mostly brown with the white rings around its eyes and nose. Both have a white patch on their throats.

A mule deer’s home range is vastly larger than the average whitetail. A whitetail can easily live its entire life in a single square mile. Wherever they’re found, they rarely travel more than a few miles from their birthplace. Because food resources are plentiful and winters manageable, lowland whitetails don’t need to travel long distances to survive. 

In the mountains, it’s a different story for mule deer. Mule deer often summer in high elevation alpine habitat above the tree-line where the richest food sources are found, but because snow levels are unmanageable during winter, mule deer migrate downhill to river valleys and low elevation habitat where food is accessible. The distance between those two points may vary, sometimes over one hundred miles.

When it comes to their antlers, the whitetail deer has a main shaft, with the rest all pointing upwards. The mule deer’s antlers, on the other hand, fork out repeatedly. Both shed their antlers annually. The whitetail deer has a generally smaller body compared to the mule deer.