A Whole Different Deer !

This is not a Mule Deer like the ones we saw in Nevada.  This is not a White-tailed Deer like we are used to seeing all over New England, either.  For a frustratingly long time, I had no clue what this animal was - but I knew what it wasn't!

It doesn't have the rope-like, black-tipped tail of a Mule Deer.  It does have sort of blackish ears, though.  Actually, it has sort of a Mule Deer face, but the ears are too small.

Mule deers have that black forehead, and the antlers are much more like Mule deer antlers than they are like White-tailed deer antlers.  Mule deer's antlers keep branching off the same stems, unlike the multiple stems of a White-tailed deer.  And that face is not like any White-tailed deer I've ever seen!

There are not supposed to be a significant population of White-tailed deer in California, anyway.  Even if there were White-tailed deers on the California coast, this is definitely not one.  I think this is a species known as the Black-tailed Deer.  According to a site called Western Hunter, "The black-tailed deer obviously gets its name from its black tail. They are also characterized as the smallest and darkest deer of the three deer species."  This guy was small and he was dark, with a very obvious black tail.

Unfortunately, I think he was also hurt.  One antler appears to be about to fall off, and one ear is severely notched.  I think he may have been the loser in a very viscous fight.  Being injured would also explain why he was out on a well traveled trail in the middle of the day.  Poor guy.  I hope he recovers, and I really think he will.  I've seen deer with far worse injuries in my own backyard, after all!

Deer Pack Hunting Coyotes in Nevada

One of the most amazing sights of our entire trip happened near Lake Washoe, Nevada.  That is where we encountered Mule Deer; a species you definitely don't see in New England.  Mule Deer are related to our familiar White-tailed Deer, but they are larger, have black tipped ears and and rope-like, black-tipped tails, and a bouncy gait when running. Probably the most noticeable difference in the two species are the huge ears on the Mule Deer, which is where the species got it's name in the first place.

The herd of deer impressed us much more than it did our friends from Nevada, who see them practically every day.  And unlike us, our local friends were not at all surprised to see a coyote sharing the same field as the deer.

What transpired next was a phenomenon that shocked even the locals, however.  As we were watching, the coyote started to drift closer and closer to the herd of deer.  When he got a little too close for comfort, all of the deer suddenly became alert.  They stopped grazing and turned to watch the coyote intently.

Suddenly the herd of Mule Deer started running toward the coyote - and the coyote started running away!

The chase was no game, either.  The deer were out for blood and the coyote was running for his life!

The coyote had good reason to fear.  Those large, hoofed animals could easily tear that puny canine to shreds when hunting as a pack.  Of course, who knew they ever hunted as a pack?

Eventually, the coyote disappeared into the underbrush, never to appear again.  Even more amazing than the sight of a coyote being hunted down by a pack of deer was the fact that it happened again just moments later! A second coyote was chased into the underbrush, too.  A week or two later, we learned that our friends had witnessed this heretofore unprecedented scenario yet again on the day after we left Nevada!  Evidently, the big Mule Deer out west have learned the coyote's own strategy of hunting in packs - and they've learned it very well, indeed!