The Columbian Black-tailed Deer is a Pacific Coast subspecies of mule deer with a fully black tail—unlike the eastern subspecies with its black tail tip. It inhabits dense forests and brushy hillsides from California to British Columbia and is one of the most intensively studied deer subspecies in North America due to its important role in Pacific Coast forest ecosystems. Its population dynamics are strongly linked to old-growth forest structure.
Habitat
Pacific Coast forests, chaparral, and coastal scrub
Diet
Forbs, shrubs, ferns, grasses, and acorns
How common
Common
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