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Desert Deer
By Russell A. Graves
West of the 100th meridian, where the sky domes over wide open plains, desert mule deer roam the draws, wheat field and mountain crags over a range that encompasses almost half of Texas. For many, mule deer are an enigma. Since whitetail deer largely dominate the collective consciousness of most Texans, when they think of deer, mule deer are a bit of a curiosity for most.
Even though I live in the midst of mule deer country, seeing them is still a treat. I grew up in northeast Texas where, like most of the state, whitetail are the dominant deer. So to see the curious-looking species is a treat.
I first saw a mule deer 18 years ago near the Pease River on the Matador Wildlife Management Area north of Paducah. The Matador is a sprawling, 28,000-acre patch of Rolling Plains rangelands that lie in the broken badlands and broad prairies of Northwest Texas and at the eastern periphery of the mule deer’s range in Texas.
When I first saw the buck, I couldn’t decide on his species. His gray color was a clue, but I’ve seen whitetails that are gray. His antlers were no help in the identification either. Books often mention branched main beams, but this buck’s antlers didn’t have the tell-tale dichotomy commonly exhibited by mule deer. The buck I saw was a standard eight-point with short brow points and longer- than-expected G2s. Curiously, the main-frame eight-point seems to be a phenotypical constant in many Texas Rolling Plains mule deer. Often mistaken as a hybrid of whitetail and mule deer, many mule deer—even the purebred variety—don’t exhibit branched antlers.
The trait, especially in Northwest Texas, seems to be one that’s found range-wide because most of the hundreds of mule deer bucks I have seen since that first buck do not have branched main beams, save for the two or three dozen exceptionally large bucks.
While his ears were longer that those of whitetails that I’d seen, that wasn’t the identifying clincher. Instead, as he retreated, he stotted into the sage scrub. That’s when I knew what he was.
A whitetail might have run or bounded away, but a mule deer stots. Stotting helps muleys retreat on rough and rocky ground. With each leap, all four feet hit the ground simultaneously for maximum stability. The retreating buck also gave me a chance to see another attribute that helped identify the buck as a mule deer—the white rump patch and black-tipped tail.
To read more pick up a copy of the January 2018 NTFR issue. To subscribe call 940-872-5922.
One of my professors out at Texas Tech University always told us that we aren’t just raising cattle, we’re raising grass, because without grass there is no cattle business. The same applies to most livestock species and crops we seek to raise- without good land management, no good yield can grow.
To read more, pick up a copy of the November edition of North Texas Farm & Ranch magazine, available digitally and in print. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
By Barry Whitworth, DVM, MPH
With the prolonged drought, most pastures in Oklahoma end up in poor condition. With the lack of available forage, animals may go in search of alternative foods.
If oak trees are in the pastures, acorns may be a favorite meal for some livestock in the fall. This may result in oak poisoning.
Oak leaves, twigs, buds, and acorns may be toxic to some animals when consumed.
To read more, pick up a copy of the November edition of North Texas Farm & Ranch magazine, available digitally and in print. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
By: Tony Dean
There are a handful of grasses on North Texas grazing lands ranchers need to know, not because they are highly desirable, but rather because they are not of much value. I call them “decom” plants, which is am acronym for “Don’t Ever Count On Me.” Silver bluestem is a “decom” grass.
Silver bluestem is a perennial which grows in all areas of Texas. It can survive in almost all soil types, and in full sun conditions or in semi shade. It grows up to three feet tall and is easily recognized with the presence of the white fuzzy seed head. Also, one of the identifying characteristics of Silver bluestem is a bend in the stems at each node, causing the plants to take on a rounded shape as they mature.
To read more, pick up a copy of the November edition of North Texas Farm & Ranch magazine, available digitally and in print. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
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