<P> In summer, California mule deer mainly browse on leaves of small trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants, but also consume many types of berries (including blackberry, huckleberry, salal, and thimbleberry). In winter, they may expand their forage to conifers (particularly twigs of Douglas fir), aspen, willow, dogwood, juniper, and sage . Year - round, they feed on acorns; grasses are a secondary food source . Where humans have encroached on historic deer habitat by suburban development or orchards, California mule deer diversify their diet with garden plant material, tree fruit, and occasionally, pet food . </P> <P> Fawns and does tend to forage together in familial groupings, while bucks tend to travel singly or with other bucks . California mule deer browse most actively near dawn and dusk, but also forage at night in open agricultural areas or when experiencing hunting pressure . </P> <P> Rutting season occurs in autumn when the does come into estrus for a period lasting only several days . Males exhibit aggressive behavior in competing for mates . Does begin estrus again if they do not become pregnant . The gestation period is about 200 days, with fawns arriving in the spring; the young remain with mothers throughout the summer and are weaned in the autumn . The buck's antlers fall off in the winter, and commence growing once more in spring in anticipation of next autumn's rut . </P> <P> Since prehistoric times, the Native American indigenous peoples of California are known to have hunted California mule deer . Thus, since about 12,000 BCE, Gage suggests that human populations have served as a control to the numbers of California mule deer . </P>

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