This post continues with a little help from some friends (students). For this week's animal they chose to investigate deer. It was a close race between deer, bobcats, and raccoons. This is the only place where the deer would win! We learned that mule deer are found in our part of Washington, between the Olympic Mtn and the Cascade Mtn ranges. One of the teachers at our school talked to us about the mule deer. She has seen them and taken pictures of mule deer on her land located about 2 hours northwest of Seattle. It seems that the mule deer likes open areas and is tolerant of people! We learned that the mule deer was given the name "mule" because of its large mule-like ears, and they have a sort of hopping gait where they jump and land on all 4 feet at the same time. They prefer less-mountainous areas and even wander into towns where they munch on yummy ornamental plants.

My students enjoyed hearing about the mule deer and they plan to look for them when they are out hiking and travelling this summer!