The following is a press release issued by the Greater Ukiah Business and Tourism Alliance (Editor’s Note: We got a kick out of reading a promo for our home):
Visit the Ukiah area in California’s Mendocino County and you’re likely to see Northern California’s ubiquitous wild turkeys (Rio Grande subspecies) and deer (probably mule deer). Pay attention and you may notice, or note signs of, wild pigs and bears. Look closely and you might, if you’re lucky, spot rarer resident fauna.
Planning a visit to the Mendocino Coast for whale watching? Through April, California gray whales will pass by during their annual migration (more information: https://www.visitcalifornia.com/experience/mendocino-whale-watching/ ). Why not plan your trip to include a leisurely drive through the rolling hills west and north of Ukiah (on your way to or from the coast)? You might spot one of these rare wild beasts (no guaranteed schedule … they’re wild).
White Deer
Wild white deer inhabit the hills northwest of Ukiah. Charles Howard (owner of the famous race-horse Seabiscuit) purchased 53 deer from William Randolph Hearst and released them on Ridgewood Ranch (home of Seabiscuit). The deer didn’t feel obliged to stay on Ridgewood Ranch, and the feral herd grew. Fallow deer are native to Europe, and Mendocino County’s are “leucistic” (meaning they are white but not albino). Most frequently seen during the early morning hours, often grazing alongside black-tailed deer. (more information: https://mendofever.com/2023/01/24/a-glimpse-of-mendocino-countys-iconic-pure-white-fallow-deer-mendomoments/ )
Feral Ponies
Feral ponies live in the hills west of Ukiah. In the mid-1960s, psychiatrist Walso Cook surprised his family with a gift of ten pregnant Shetland ponies. Adding a stallion set the herd on a path of expansion. Cook sold off most of the pony herd through an auction by the mid-1970s, but some ponies escaped or were intentionally set free. And the herd grew. Locally dubbed the “Robinson Creek Ponies” these hardy beasts now number 200, but the herd is unlikely to grow (because of wild stallion neutering). (more information: https://www.wilburhotsprings.com/the-robinson-creek-ponies/ )
Ukiah is a friendly small city on the Russian River in Northern California. It’s the County seat and largest community in Mendocino County. Ukiah is on U.S. Highway 101, some 115 miles north of San Francisco and 145 miles northwest of Sacramento. Ukiah has an official California Welcome Center in the heart of its appealing downtown, at 200 S. School Street.
www.VisitUkiah.com or (707) 391-0474.
The Greater Ukiah Business and Tourism Alliance (GUBTA) is partnered with Visit California (the state’s designated tourism development organization) through the statewide California Welcome Center Initiative. California Welcome Centers provide resources and information to inspire visitors and locals to explore local regions and the state as a whole.
We have quite few feral humans too, more likely to be encountered.
It’s a wild place up here.
I don’t believe we have Mule Deer in Mendocino County.
I’ve heard this statement before. Blacktail is a subspecies of the Mule deer family. Hence also a Muledeer.
Absolutely not and no mules in Mendocino
No mule deer in Mendocino County. We have coastal blackmtail deer.
according to Wiki, we have “Sitka black-tailed deer (O. h. sitkensis)” in Mendo, a subspecies of Mule deer.
Not Sitka, Columbia.
We don’t have mule deer in Mendocino county. We have Blacktail. In the Yolla Bolly middle eel wilderness area, the far reaches of the Mendocino National Forest, the mule deer from Shasta and Trinity counties are starting to cross bread with the Blacktail creating a hybrid. This has been happening for hundreds of years probably. But south of Covelo Mendocino has Blacktail only for its deer population. Blacktail Only!!!! They are easy to tell apart. A mule deer has a box shaped antler. Square kind of at the base. And they weigh twice as much as a blacktail. Blacktail are generally tiny compared to a mule or whitetail. We called the Blacktail a suitcase buck when I was a kid. Because if you shot one you could carry them under your arm like a suitcase because they were so small. Mule deer can be the size of a mule. Duh. They can double or triple the weight of a local Blacktail.
Mule deer are called such because of mule deer having large ears..like a mule. Not because of body size. Fact.
California sierras and sierra foothills on down through the eastern side including the desert regions of California and up to Oregon and Nevada state lines, have a unique species called California Mule Deer. Sizably less than Rocky Mountain Mule Deer.
There are I believe 22 subspecies of mule deer in California…..some due to the cross breeding of mule deer and blacktail deer.
I’ve spent many a time traversing the sierras and the foothill areas up and down California including the eastern side of sierras along Nevada state line. In this time I’ve observed lots of deer that were astonishing as far as body size and antler growth. But as a rule..California Mule Deer are around 2/3rd the size of a typical Rocky Mountain Mule Deer…it’s all about genetics. Recall the subspecies of deer.
What will throw you is observing a mule deer that just looks…odd. Considering that there was a time years ago (And still may be active) that game wardens had the standing agenda of shooting any whitetail deer species anywhere in California….hybrid whitetail/mule deer are out there..hence odd looking deer characteristics. And it depends if mule deer buck bred the whitetail doe or whitetail buck bred the mule deer doe. And..whitetail will breed with black tail deer though rare.
Whitetail are highly aggressive. Highly. Whitetail bucks simply out compete. So..hybrid deer are not common.
The infiltration of whitetail into traditional mule deer territory has accelerated. Western Colorado and front range areas of Colorado are seeing this acceleration. But it’s just not easy to distinguish the cross breeding of these two species.
Anyhow….there’s much trouble ahead for all deer species including elk/deer/moose..called “Chronic Wasting Disease”…but that’s another subject.