Anyone ever shoot a hybrid deer?

[James M]

I found this picture in a facebook hunting group. The deer on the right is a whitetail/mulie cross.

[mud slug]

never shot one came across a doe last year we figured was a hybrid argued for a hour if it was a whitetail or a mullie. just wandered around 20 yards from the truck. had the ears and colour of a mullie but the face and body of a whitetail. couldn't figure out which tag it would go under if we did take it.

[Bushrat]

[QUOTE=james_m;121322]. The deer on the right is a whitetail/mulie cross.


What makes you think it's a hybrid? Looks pure whitetail to me.

[shedcrazy]

The coloring or antlers mean little in determining if it is a hybrid. The only way to truely tell if the deer is a hybrid is the metatarsal gland, which is located on the outside of the lower portion of the rear legs.

The metatarsals on mule deer sit high on the lower leg and are 3 to 6 inches long and surrounded by light brown fur. The whitetail's metatarsals are at or below the mid-point of the lower leg, usually less than 1 inch, and surrounded by white hairs. A whitetail-mule deer hybrid has metatarsal glands that split the difference, usually measuring between 2-4 inches and encircled with white hair.

I have looked at many deer at check stations that at first glance you would have thought it was a hybrid without question but wasn't. It is very rare in wild adult deer.

[James M]

What makes you think it's a hybrid? Looks pure whitetail to me.[/QUOTE]

The guy that shot it said it was.

[lynx]

removed

my son shot this deer by orlorf lake in o4 ,it was very dark colored and looked like a hibred.

[lilsundance]

My father shot a whitetail years ago that had the antlers of a mule deer on it. To look at just the antlers you would say nice muley rack. But to his dying day he always said it came off a whitetailed deer's body. Go figger eh!

[duffy4]

Like shedcrazy said, the antlers are really not at all a good indicator of a hybrird. The tail cn give a clue but the glands on the legs are the real proof.

Lynx, do you have any pictures that show an indication the deer was a hybird?

Robin in Rocky

[lynx]

removed

[mulecrazy]

Originally Posted by guidehunt

my son shot this deer by orlorf lake in o4 ,it was very dark colored and looked like a hibred.

Body colour cannot be used as an indicator. Whiteys can range from a redish tinge to full blown grey on two different deer in the same area at the same time of year.

[raised by wolves]

A friend took a buck near the Devil's Coulee dig site (108) that was an obvious hybrid. Typical Mule Deer antlers and body colouration but with the ass and tail of the Whitetails.

Anyone in the Edmonton area should keep their eyes on the gas extraction plant on 23 ave and Gateway Blvd. Someone put a muley buck fawn and a whitetail doe fawn in there a few years back. All the other animals in there are the hybrid offspring. So far the does all look mostly like whitetails, although there is a new, young buck that has some muley traits.

[nekred]

I have arrowed 2 hybrids.

One North of Thorsby and one By Fort St. John

The one by Thorsby You could have atgged either way. It did not have the big white bum of the mule but the tip of the tail was black. yet it had Whitetail style antler on one side and a forked pair on the other.

It was very big bodied for the antler size.

Another one I shot years ago was a great big 2 point. It had Mule Deer antlers in Velvet about 14" tall, With White belly and whitetail tail. It was a young 2 year old deer. The face was relly odd the eyes were bugged out almost like a pronghorn. I will have to dig out some pictures.

[tallguy]

What tag did you guys put on them?

[nekred]

Mule deer on one, whitetail on other... whatever charactaristics were most matched!

[GunHound]

The word gets tossed around way to much, it is possible to shoot a hybrid, but the odds are very unlikely. Like others have stated already hair color and the look of their antlers in absolutely no evidence of them being a hybrid.
You should read an article from the March/April Western Sportsman page 62 "the bottom line is that it is unlikely for a hunter to see a mule/white-tailed hybrid deer in the wild".

[Pioneer2]

Like the cross doe I shot a couple years back.Looked like a mulie with a WT tail with no black tip.................they exist and taste the same too........Harold

[packhuntr]

I took still photos in october 2 years ago on the wild hay river of a mule doe, a mule fawn, and what appeared to be a whitetail fawn....It wasnt a mule or a w/t, most unreal confusion of color and markings ive ever seen on a deer, albeit a fawn. These three came down through the black timber to drink on the Wildhay, and when i got the glasses on this doe with fawns, I near sh*t...... We worked our way in on them, got set up for a shot, and i started burning film of the three of them. I got live photos of the doe and the twins. The strange colored fawn gave my Dad a shot opportunity, and that was all she wrote. I dont have a scanner, or i would post pics of this deer. I skinned it for the old boy for a full hide with hooves intact and the tanning job worked out awesome. One of the greatest big game animals ive ever been a part of in my life. Im still choked i wasnt the trigger man on that deer, but the next best guy i could think of got to be! I talked with local SRD staff, our local taxidermist, and showed the pics, including field photos to everyone in the country that would look. No doubt in my mind, or anyone elses, what we harvested that day, and i cant wait for my turn to show off that hide in my house for awhile.

keep a strain on er.

[big d]

I Am A Little Confused On The Whole Situation With Witch Tag To Put On A Hibred If I Was So Lucky To Come A Cross On. I Have Seen Whitetail And Mulies Running A Hanging Around Each Other, I Have Seen Split Racks Where One Side Had Forks And The Other Side Staight Beam And Points But I Dont Think I Have Seen A Cross. Not To Dought That They Cross Breed, But Wonder What Kind Of Story You Have To Tell The D.n.r. To Convince Them That It Is One Or The Other. Keep In Mind You Have To Be Sure Of Your Target And Whats Beyond. There Are No Opps With Hunting Just Bad Judgements. Please Inlighten Me Because As It Stands Right Now I Would Have To Be Responsible And Pass One Up No Matter How Impressive It Is

[packhuntr]

Big D. In discussions over this deer with SRD, it was brought to my attention that the vast majority of hybrid instances (as rare as they are)are due to the much more aggresive whitetail breeding a mule doe. There was no question what we were looking at in our situation, and in our best judgment it was harvested as an antlerless whitetail. Like i said before though, i would love to post pics of this mule doe with these twins, but dont have a scanner. If there was any issue with harvesting this mule does fawn as an antlerless w/t, no one gave us any greif over it. If you were to pass on an opportunity to harvest an animal like we saw that day, you would never forget, nor would you be able to forgive yourself. A true trophy of a lifetime, mabey 10 lifetimes, i dont know, and it was a fawn.....

keep a strain on er.

[big d]

Packhunter I Didnt Want To Sound Like You Made A Bad Disision I Just Wanted To Know For Myself. Thank You For Your Reply It Was Much Apprieciated And Hope I Get A Chance Of A Life Time. Hunt Enough And Maybe I Will. Thanks Again

[raised by wolves]

Aside from the animals I have seen, I heard of a fair number of animals taken from 108 that had the characterisitics of both species. One property I hunt is laiden with deer and on many occassions I have encountered a group of Whitetail does being tended by a younger Muley buck.

Last season I passed up a small Muley that had antlers more like that of the Whitetails. He was a nicely balanced 4X4, but the antler pattern was the mainbeam of the Whitetail with 4 separate points, no forks like the Muley. Even the behaviour was skittery like the Whitetails and not the typical sit-and-stare-back of Muleys.

[packhuntr]

I agree with afew of the above comments. I dont think you can say its hibridization based on antler formation. Alot of w/t in alberta have that bad (scoring wise) genetics that cause forking G-2s. Sure they look like a w/t with a mule rack, but its a w/t none the less. Alot of mules will also never fork a G-3 off the G-2, causing them to appear to have a w/t rack. Antler formation just cant be used. Id like to have that hide here, id take a couple pics and post them. I would enjoy looking on the hide to see if it falls into that tarsal gland theory.

keep a strain on er.

[capthook]

Hello all...

I am personally familiar with a case in the late 70's where a hunter shot a hybridized mule deer thinking it was a WT. He was stopped at a F&W road stop and charged under the Wildlife Act with hunting without a license... In the end, he was acquitted in court because of the testimony for an academic wildlife biologist who was able to convince the judge that the deer was a hybrid.

I'm curious if anyone else is familiar with F&W charging hunters with infractions relating to hybrids?

Hook

[Tundra Monkey]

We had a client kill a hybrid polar/grizz 2 years ago. Had to do the whole CSI thing so he could keep his bear. Turned out to be a grizz dad and a polar bear mom. Numbers were consistant with a first generation hybrid. Amazing what they can figure out nowadays. Caused a few delays for him....but a fair bit of publicity as well. Pretty cool to be involved in the whole thing.

tm

[crazy_davey]

Originally Posted by Tundra Monkey

We had a client kill a hybrid polar/grizz 2 years ago. Had to do the whole CSI thing so he could keep his bear. Turned out to be a grizz dad and a polar bear mom. Numbers were consistant with a first generation hybrid. Amazing what they can figure out nowadays. Caused a few delays for him....but a fair bit of publicity as well. Pretty cool to be involved in the whole thing.

tm

Is this the one you are speaking of TM?

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNew..._name=&no_ads=

Just curious as I remember reading alot about it at the time.

[Tundra Monkey]

Yup....that's him. The Govt. sent the bear to me after they identified what it was.

Not the only one out there either. Our guys out of a different community had seen and tried to kill one on the ice two weeks before. It went to water and got away but it was with a female polar bear It was described as a browner bear with a light head. Had a hump and left polar bear tracks. This is what I was told over the radio. The guide that reported it in would NOT make a mistake. After I returned to YK I went to ENR and asked what was going to happen if we killed this bear. No precedent meant a no answer from them. I went back north two weeks later and heard over the 2-way that Jim killed what was thought to be a hybrid. It was 130 miles from where the original bear was seen and I assumed it was the same bear....that was until I saw the pics. The bear that David saw was darker and a much larger/older bear. After it was cleared it was sent to me and mounted by Robertson's in time for SCI/Reno the following Jan. Great job by the way.

Pretty interesting hunt all around....if ya got any questions fire away.

tm

[Tuc]

F&W will judge by the tail so you better have the proper tag.

[Huntnut]

Originally Posted by big d

I Am A Little Confused On The Whole Situation With Witch Tag To Put On A Hibred If I Was So Lucky To Come A Cross On.

I was told by F&W a few years ago that you go by the tail and use the approiate tag. That is why you are required to leave the tail on when transporting.

[Tuc]

That's correct. If you think the deer is a hybrid, for example. You see a set of mulie antlers but the tail says it's a WT, then you better have a WT tag to put on it.