Caribou, Deer, Elk & Moose - Sounds Wild
Mule Deer

Transcript

A small group of deer steps out onto a beach near Skagway in northern Southeast Alaska. The forests of Southeast are home to Sitka Black-tailed deer, but these are not black-tails, these are mule deer - larger cousins to black-tails. Mule deer aren't native to Alaska. Black-tail deer historically inhabited coastal and western forests of the Pacific Northwest, and mule deer the mountains and arid regions of the American West. Mule deer in British Columbia and the Yukon are expanding their range north and west, and into Southeast Alaska. Fish and Game biologists are working to learn more.

In 2019, the Alaska Board of Game established regulations for mule deer, allowing them to be harvested year-round. Biologists hope that hunters who take mule deer for the venison will provide a variety of tissue samples, which will help biologists better understand the mule deer population and distribution. There is concern that the new deer could carry diseases, new parasites, and ticks, that could spread to Alaska's deer and moose.

The Fish and Game website has good information on mule deer, and Alaskans who harvest a mule deer can call Fish and Game to learn more about providing samples.