### animal | vertebrate | mammal | ungulate | deer:

Mule deer
* Most mule deer are classified as animals
  - detect slight movement
* Most mule deer eat foliage
  - grass
  - toxic plants
  - establish home ranges and use the same winter and summer homes in consecutive years
  - get water
* Most mule deer have ears
  - narrow tails
* Most mule deer live in areas
  - up to years
  - occur in areas
* Most mule deer prefer grassland
  - herb shrubs
  - open grassland
  - require water
  - utilize habitats
* Some mule deer affect development
  - feed on twigs
* Some mule deer have months
  - patches
* Some mule deer have small patches
  - white patches
  - occur in steppes
* abound from mountain tops to river bottoms.
* abound, and golden eagles nest and forage in the area.
* are New Mexico's most important big game species.
* are abundant along the coulees throughout the region
  - and can often be observed munching in the meadows below the summit
  - amazing creatures
  - among the most beloved and iconic wildlife of the American West
  - another animal often spotted in Red Rocks Park
  - browsers with a highly varied diet
  - common in upland side canyons and brushy draws
  - darker and taller than whitetail deer
  - deers
  - extremely varied in their habitats
  - more numerous, and found mostly in the southern two-thirds of the state
  - present on most of the islands
  - preyed on by mountain lions throughout their range
  - ruminants and digest their food in much the same way as a cow
  - selective feeders
  - serially polygynous
  - social animals that typically stay in groups
* are the cousins of the whitetails, though they are a separate species
  - most abundant large mammals in the breaks
  - prime prey sought by elusive mountain lion
* can live in most parts of the desert, as can prairie dogs, a favorite of young visitors
  - move long distances during spring and fall migrations to avoid mountain snow
* detect movement
* do eat grass, but starve on a diet of only grass.
* eat different plants throughout the year
* feed on plants
  - predominantly in open areas, avoiding forest edges and forest interiors
* follow a time- honored migration to the high country.
* forage habitats.
* get their name from their large, mule-like ears
* have a gestation period of about seven months
  - canine teeth
  - extremely large ears, hence the name
  - large mule-like ears and a white tail with black fringe in the summer
  - requirements
  - small stomachs, compared to their overall body size
  - smaller tails in which only the tip is covered with black hairs
  - specific requirements
  - the same acute senses of smell, sight and hearing as have white-tailed deer
  - white undersides and black,white and gray-barred sides and back
* is included on all rifle elk hunts during deer season.
* is the most common large mammal
  - park's only deer species
  - throughout western North America from the southern Yukon to northern Mexico
* make their summer home in the high basins and draws.
* migrate up the slopes as the snow melts.
* move into the higher elevations in summer
  - through the country during spring and fall migrations
  - to the valley to forage and avoid the snow
* prefer open grassland
  - grasslands and perk-lands, or forest edge ecosystems
* spend the summers in high mountain meadows.
* switch diets.
* use it to build up their fat reserves for the winter months.
  - riparian habitats for forage, water, shelter, and fawning areas
* visit the lake itself in the evenings and early mornings.