The Blacktail Need Some LOVE

[sharp wren]

With the Mule Deer getting an amazing rework with Askiy Ridge, and the new and much better looking antlers, the Blacktail need some love!
They are very closely related to Mule Deer, and by simply changing the Mule Deer model into a Blacktail fashion, would be amazing! As well as making new TruRacs for them. Or simply choosing some Mule Deer antlers, and changing them to be a darker, chocolate color, and changing some for different antler variations.

They do look very close to Mule Deer, but some key differences are,

Smaller Ears.
A large, black tail.
Darker fur coat variations.
A smaller or shorter face/head, but a broad nose.
And a dark brown patch above the eyes.

They can vary in size from region to region, but for Layton Lakes the current weights are perfect.

Fur types include
Brown

Dark Brown/Chocolate

Light Brown Gray

Gray

A couple of antler types.

[naive scaffold]

You forgot this beast of a Rack.

[heavy dragon]

Blacktails and Roosevelt Elk definitely need reworks. Not sure Layton needs any backfills, but new models for those two species would really be a big draw to bring hunters back to that map.

[placid minnow]

Does just look like if a whitetail and a mule deer had a baby

[heavy dragon]

Pretty sure an early hybridization/interbreeding of the two species is believed to be the source of their origin.

[placid minnow]

Makes sense

[slim cargo]

Backfilling blacktail onto Yukon would be a perfect reason for a remodel. Then add dall sheep, maybe a partridge species, and remodeled Roosevelt elk and Yukon would be perfect.

[sharp wren]

Oh I thought that was a Muley 😂 but now I see the tail

[sharp wren]

It was Blacktail and Whitetail interbreeding that made Mule Deer from what I remember. Something like that happened a while ago

[fringe birch]

I think Blacktail need a little more than love 😭 the poor things need a whole damn remake. Other than maybe Grizzlies, they are the worse model in the game, and they easily have the worst TruRACS in game.

[fringe birch]

I could see Blacktail on Yukon, but not Roosevelt Elk. Sitka Blacktail Deer do live decently far west into Alaska (on the Kodiak Archipelago, which seeing as Grizzlies in game are based on Kodiak Bears, I think it could work).

[slim cargo]

If I remember right Roosevelt elk also live in Alaska in the same area. Though this mostly comes from way of the hunter and an episode of meateater where they hunt elk on an island in the archipelago.

[fringe birch]

The main thing with Elk is that I simply couldn’t see them fitting on Yukon. Elk in Alaska (particularly on Afognak where most of them are) generally live in High mountain areas where there’s minimal trees. There’s not much of that on Yukon. Sitka Deer live in woodlands and along rivers, of which there’s plenty on Yukon. I wouldn’t complain about Roosies on Yukon, I just couldn’t see it.

[slim cargo]

Fair play to ya. There is the north part of Yukon with the birch trees, which I'd say is semi-mountians, but that's a stretch. i was just thinking it give them an excuse to remodel the elk since they only remodel with new maps or backfilling.

[fringe birch]

Well they don’t only remodel with maps. Moose got a remodel with an October update.

[slim cargo]

I thought they got remodeled when new England came out? I know the remodel happens with the update when a map comes out. However they do it, I just wish they would remodel all the old animals that definitely need one.

[sharp wren]

They do not look even remotely real 😭

[fringe birch]

They first got remodeled with Revontuli and had a final remodel with the October DLCs that year

[placid minnow]

I’d say ptarmigan before any partridge for Yukon

[slim cargo]

Sorry meant to say ptarmigan

[placid minnow]

Hey that is interesting, then there is hope for remodels without a map being needed, but i’m guessing it should be highly suggested

[silk thistle]

We absolutely need this rework!

[silk thistle]

also, is that ||Don Jr.|| in that hunting photo in the first post?

[sharp wren]

fixed for no political conversations anymore

[silk thistle]

yeah I just figured that it could lead to some conversations that would be... not ideal for this discord server.

[sharp wren]

Nope 💀 not at all

[sharp wren]

Would love some better piebalds as well!

[placid minnow]

They would need more variations like bighorn got, especially moose

[bold rain]

They NEED another blacktail map Layton isn't the best

[sturdy wedge]

Grate 1 blacktail is not a very unrealistic pick, think about it. The devs pick animals that is on a free dlc map most of the time and blacktail is on Layton so I have hopes for a rework with truracks being remodeled as well. Very nice suggestion