Mule deer in Texas belong to the desert and mountain country of the Trans-Pecos, and the record pattern backs that up. Big Bend National Park and the Guadalupe Mountains, both rugged, high-elevation terrain far from the state’s wetter east, account for the bulk of where people report them.
November and December carry the heaviest counts, which lines up with the rut, when bucks move more and cover more ground in daylight. That doesn’t mean the population itself peaks then; it just means the deer are easier to see and photograph during breeding season.
NatureServe ranks Texas mule deer S4, apparently secure, and the species sits at the 88th percentile of Texas mammal records, common but not the most frequently reported hoofed animal in the state’s arid west.
Full species profile
