🦌 Mule Deer

Big-eared western deer that bounces away on all four feet at once.

2.5–3.5 in long. Cloven, heart-shaped print. Slightly larger and blockier than a whitetail's. Stotting leaves four prints in a tight cluster. Points forward in direction of travel.

Sagebrush, foothills, canyons, mountain forest. Western North America.

Crepuscular

Shrubs, forbs, acorns

Mule deer 'stot' — a stiff-legged four-footed bounce that clears rough ground fast.