JACKSON, Wyo. — Last week, Buckrail photographer spotted a mule deer wandering over from its group to say hello to its moose relatives in Jackson Hole.
The Wyoming Game and Fish Department writes on its website that both mule deer and moose are members of the deer family (Cervidae), but research from 1990 titled “Phylogeny and evolution of antlered deer determined from mitochondrial DNA sequences” by Miyamoto et al. confirms that the subfamily Odocoileinae, to which moose belong, diverged from other deer lineages nine to 12 million years ago.
WGFD write that moose are the largest member of the deer family, although both moose and mule deer are considered “big game species” in the state. Both are also native to North America, grow antlers and are herbivores.
While moose thrive in the winter, the colder the better, mule deer populations have suffered in recent history in Wyoming with the harsh weather. However, WGFD aerial surveys reveal local mule deer numbers are recovering.
