Mule Deer: The Gentle Giants of Pearson-Arastradero Preserve

From time to time, I hear a crunch on the grass, and I find a big Mule Deer staring right at me. Mule Deer are the biggest herbivore in the Pearson-Arastradero preserve. Arastradero has only one type of deer: the Mule Deer. When I was younger, I would admire a huge deer towering over me, and those sights have stuck with me throughout my entire life. Mule deer are not rare, so I would say I see them around 90% of the time I go hiking. When people think of deer, I am sure they think of deer with big antlers. However, most of the time, people see female deer with no antlers. Deer have antlers, so they have to shed their antlers every year. Their antlers grow back bigger than the previous year, so if you see a deer with very big antlers, chances are it is older than most of the other deer. Horns don't shed; they grow back every year. Tusks are long teeth that never fall off and are different from horns. Mule Deer start to shed their antlers from January to March, so you are probably not going to see a deer with antlers around winter. I see deer with antlers about 40% of the time I go hiking. I hope you treasure the experience of viewing wild deer as much as me, and I hope you have found this page useful.