Embryonic and Fetal Development of the Mule Deer

The Rocky Mountain mule deer (Odocoileus h. hemionus) is one of the important species of big-game animals in the western mountain states. The mule deer, like other big-game species, has been subject to an increasing amount of hunting pressure. A knowledge of the breeding habits and reproductive pattern is necessary if gamemanagement agencies are to maintain the breeding stock successfully and yet provide a sustained yield for the hunter. It seemed desirable to study the morphology of the embryonic and fetal development of the mule deer in order to augment our present knowledge of the reproduction of this species. Research involving mule deer reproduction was initiated by the Department of Zoology and the Montana Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit in September 1953, and material collected in this program was made available for the present investigation.