The Coues Whitetail Deer is a small subspecies of
white-tailed deer found in Arizona, New Mexico and Mexico. Coues
deer are most common in Arizona's southeastern mountains, but range up
to the edge of the Mogollon Rim and into the White Mountains. They are
mostly found in areas of predictable summer rain, prefer wooded areas of
chaparral, oak, and pine, with interspersed clearings and are usually
found at higher elevations than mule deer.
These deer have many different names: some say cow,
some say coos, some call them the Desert Whitetail, even the
North American Indians have a name for them - the "Grey Ghost"
- due to their uncanny ability to vanish from view in the smallest
amount of cover.
Many people consider Coues deer
to be the most challenging big game animal to
hunt.
Description
The Coues white-tailed deer is one of the smallest deer
in America, much smaller than most of its eastern cousins. Coues deer
stand just over 30 inches tall at the shoulder and measure about 56
inches from head to tail. A large field-dressed buck will rarely
exceed 80-90 pounds, although some can exceed 100 pounds. Does
average about 65 lbs.
The Coues deer coat color varies from a grayish
salt-and-pepper coat in winter to a more reddish-brown color in the
summer. The face is marked with the classic signs seen on other
subspecies of whitetail with white circles ("halos") around its eyes and
a white band across the muzzle. The white throat patch tends to
not be as pronounced as other whitetails.
The most distinguishing characteristic of the whitetail
is its long, broad tail. Coues deer tails are generally brown with a
border of white on the topside and all white on the underside.
Topside colors can vary from gray to reddish-black depending on the
geographical area. They often carry their tail high as an alarm
signal sometimes called "flagging" .
The antlers consist of a number of tines coming up from a
main beam which curves forward. Mature bucks generally have three to
four tines per side.
Fawns are usually born to coincide with the new growth
following the summer rains usually early in the new year. They are
born with numerous white spots on their coat which generally disappear
after about 2 months.
Arizona Hunt History
The Coues white-tailed deer's cautious and suspicious demeanor
coupled with its amazing ability at using cover rarely offers a hunter a
standing shot once jumped. Maybe that's why it is gaining
popularity with many of our nation's hunters. "The recent
trend has been for this species to constitute an ever greater proportion
of the statewide harvest. For example, whitetails comprised less than 15
percent of Arizona's deer harvest in 1961 but nearly 40 percent in
1998."*
How to tell a Coues
Deer from a Mule Deer?
Since these are the most common deer found in Arizona and
New Mexico, it is helpful to know how to tell them apart.
-
The tail is the easiest way to distinguish these two
deer species. Coues deer have a much wider tail that is white
underneath, but not on top. The tail of the mule deer is much
skinnier, very rope-like, and is white with a black tip. When
Coues deer are excited, they will raise their tail ("flagging") which
displays the white under the tail. The mule deer will not.
-
White-tailed deer generally live in small groups of
2-5, not large herds like mule deer.
-
White-tailed deer and mule deer have different
behavior/strategies to avoid predators. Whitetails have a more
natural run and will leap or trot away from danger. While, mule
deer have a unique gait that is stiff-legged and bounds on all four
legs at the same time (stotting).
-
If you can't see their tails, Coues and Mule deer can
look similar. Coues have the characteristic white "halos"
around their eyes and muzzle. Mule deer will have a lot more
white on their faces, not just around the eyes and nose. Mule
deer may also have more black color on their foreheads.
-
Most whitetails have antlers that have the tines coming
directly off the main beam. Coues deer are no different.
However, a mule deer has branching of the antlers where some tines
come off other tines in a regular forked pattern. A young
Coues and mule deer are very hard to tell apart. They both have
just two points (forkhorn) on their antlers. Keep that in mind
when using this feature to identify deer.
General Information
-
Breeding Period: January
-
Young Appear: August
-
Average Number of Young: 2
-
Habitat: Oak-grasslands, chaparral, and pine forests
-
Food: Weeds, shrubs, grass, mistletoe, and cacti fruits in
season
-
Live Weight: M-125lbs.; F-80lbs.
-
Predators: Mountain Lion, Bobcat, Eagle, and Coyote
We can video your hunt . . .
Click Here for more information.
Good Hunting!
Call Brian at
417-876-8982
*Some information gathered from
CouesWhiteTail.com and
Arizona Fish and Game.
