Winter Foods of Mule Deer in Piceance Basin, Colorado

Abstract

Fecal samples were examined to estimate the foods of mule deer on winter range in the Piceance Creek Basin in northwestern Colorado. The deer were assumed to be under extreme hardship because of the cold temperatures, the amounts and duration of snow on the ground, and a winter die-off. Pinyon pine and Utah juniper comprised 83% of the total foods eaten between December and March. Big sagebrush, antelope bitterbrush, and Utah serviceberry contributed about 13%. Ten other species of plants occurred in small quantities.