The black-tailed deer lives along the Pacific coast from western California up through Alaska. In eastern California, as elsewhere, moving inland black-tailed deer are replaced by their larger subspecies with a different tail pattern, the mule deer.

How rare is a black deer?

Melanistic deer have been reported from 29 states, but they are never common. In one region of Texas, Texas Tech University found that melanistic deer make up about 8.5 percent of the population, by far the biggest concentration of these animals known.

What states have black deer?

Melanistic whitetails have been reported in Mississippi, Michigan, Virginia, Iowa, and Pennsylvania. Biologists note that the odd black deer with the genetic mutation could show up anywhere in the country. Interestingly, the Edwards Plateau and Hill Country of central Texas are ground zero for black deer.