White-tailed deer can be recognized by their white bottomed tail used as a warning flag; mule deer tails are more cream-colored with a distinct black tip. The easiest way to identify mule deer, especially antlerless deer, is by the characteristically large ears in proportion to head size, which is where they get their name. White-tailed deer have smaller, seemingly more proportional ears. Mule deer also have characteristic black markings on their forehead and around their ears, as can be seen in the pictures above. On bucks, during the breeding season, the antlers are also an additional indicator. On mule deer, the antlers are usually bifurcated (the tines come in forked pairs). Mule deer racks are generally described in a side x side format, for example, 4×4 for a deer with 4 tines on each side. White-tailed deer usually have all their tines coming off one main beam, and antlers are described based on total points, such as 8pt or 9pt. Antlers alone are not a great indicator of species due to variation in individuals. For instance, a 3×3 mule deer rack with a non-bifurcated tine on each side can look very similar to a 6 point white-tailed deer rack. There are also white-tailed deer racks with forked tines that can look very similar to a mule deer rack. There are areas where people have reported mule deer with non-bifurcated racks similar to white-tailed deer or white-tailed deer herds with many bifurcated racks.
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