Piebald deer...ever see one? How about albino?

[woodjin]

Ever see a piebald deer (a mixture of white and typical brown fur)? I know where there is a whole herd of them. Actually, I havn't seen that herd in about a year now but I used to see them all the time. They are quite something to see. The first one I saw was a buck and it really caught me off guard. He was about 90% white. The doe's look goat like from a distance. Ive wondered if the old folk story of the White Stag on Quaker Bridge road wasn't a piebald, maybe an ancester to the herd I'm familar with.

On a related topic, a friend of mine has a photo of a true albino fawn he took just recently. Amazing.

Jeff

 

[bobpbx]

Ever see a piebald deer (a mixture of white and typical brown fur)? I know where there is a whole herd of them. Jeff

My friend lives on Ridge Road in Browns Mills. He has seen a white buck in that area in years past.

 

[Rubibee]

Traveling late at night we also saw one right near a very popular ruin . We just thought it was an albino deer. Although we did see some brown spots on it, so I wouldn't say it was a true albino deer. VERY stricking when the Jeep lights and the "brights" were aimed right at it.

 

[Ben Ruset]

IIRC Popcorn Park Zoo has an albino - or at least several very lightly colored deer.

The deer are my favorite part of visiting the zoo.

 

[woodjin]

4wheelingbee, I'm curious as to where you saw the deer? I'm hesitant to ask for an exact location since I know of only one herd and this might be the only herd, and I don't want to draw too much attention to that one area. If you could give me a general location of the ruin you saw it by (ie: Wharton, lebanon, bass river, or a town or near by landmark) I'm just curious if there could be others. I assume this is a genetic trait that tends to be isolated to specific herds instead of a random trait that can show up in any herd. I could be wrong about this.

One would think that they would be especially rare because they stand out like a sore thumb and hunters would take them immeditely (due to hightened visability and the uniqueness of their hide)

Bruset, that avatar is giving me nightmares

Jeff

 

[foofoo]

i have seen i beautiful pie- bald DEER at fort dix near hanover lake this year near completely white. there is a difference between a pie bald and a true albino. i wouldnt worry about hunters harvesting them as i would the coyotes taking them ./ i am a hunter and would be up in the air as to taking one . piebalds arent as rare as you think. they all taste the same just pigmentation variations. i HIGHLY DOUBT THERE IS A WHOLE HERD OF ALBINO DEER! deer breed like rats and can live anywhere. there may be a group of piebalds that have been exclusive to an area due to genetics and people feeding and protecting them.there are black squirrel colonies like this.its kinda cool to look at BUT STILL TASTE DELICIUOS COOKED WITH BUTTER AND GARLIC.

 

[woodjin]

oh no, I wasn't saying there is a herd of albino deer. But a herd made up mostly of piebalds. In this area I know of, I have seen as many as maybe 7 piebalds at one time together. This leads me to believe that the piebald trait runs high within this particular herd. The albino that I mentioned is a unique individual. Have you ever seen a piebald in Wharton state forest, or near the forked river mountain area? I've noticed that they seem to be somewhat concentrated. I assume this from my own experience and from others (primarily hunters) that I've spoken to.

 

[Ben Ruset]

BUT STILL TASTE DELICIUOS COOKED WITH BUTTER AND GARLIC.

Please don't troll my forums.

 

[RednekF350]

I have seen a few piebald in Wharton.
I saw an entitrely white deer a few years ago while spotting one night and one of my my sons got a crack at it later that season with his muzzleloader.
He was so nervous when he saw it coming out of the cedars like a ghost that he shot under it. We had a swath of white hair on the ground but we tracked for a few hours the next day in the daylight and found no blood or deer.
Another anomaly is a doe with antlers. My grandmother's neighbor killed a 6 point doe when I was kid. It was the talk of the neighborhood.
Supposedly it is not that rare but that was the only one I have seen in 37 years of hunting.
Scott

 

[wis bang]

Pie Balds are deer w/ mixed pigment having brown eyes & noses. They do seem to group in the same areas, or at least you hear of specific areas where they are spotted frequently.

Albino deer lack pigment so their eyes & nose, etc apear pink instead of the usual brown/black. This is a genetic condition found among alot of diferent species. The effect is quite different from a pie bald.

A Doe w/ antlers is fairly rare, the hunter only finds out when he turns it over to remove the entrails and does not find the usual sexual appendages. Our group of hunters has (3) guys over 70 and only one of them has seen one...Some mid-west states require the hunter to leave proof of sex on the carcas and They might be able to provide some information on how rare this really is. Caribou & Reindeer females have antlers while black tail, white tail and elk don't.

 

[uuglypher]

Just to clarify a bit...

In general terms:

Albinism is he result of a mutation that causes a total inability of the body to produce melanin.

Piebald, on the other hand, is the result of one of a variety of mutations that cause only local regions of the integument to be free of melanin - also called "local or focal leukism".

The mutations causing albinism and piebalds occur in all species that normally display melanin, but usually do not survive in wild populations because the albinos or piebald individuals are more obvious to predators and thus more likely to be eliminated before entering the breeding population. It's interesting that albinism as well as the various piebald states are not uncommon in sequestered or captive deer herds or other populations that are exposed to a reduced risk of predation by natural preditors.

Dave in Estelline

Pie Balds are deer w/ mixed pigment having brown eyes & noses. They do seem to group in the same areas, or at least you hear of specific areas where they are spotted frequently.

Albino deer lack pigment so their eyes & nose, etc apear pink instead of the usual brown/black. This is a genetic condition found among alot of diferent species. The effect is quite different from a pie bald.

A Doe w/ antlers is fairly rare, the hunter only finds out when he turns it over to remove the entrails and does not find the usual sexual appendages. Our group of hunters has (3) guys over 70 and only one of them has seen one...Some mid-west states require the hunter to leave proof of sex on the carcas and They might be able to provide some information on how rare this really is. Caribou & Reindeer females have antlers while black tail, white tail and elk don't.

 

[gbpowell]

I have been obsess, ever since I saw my first white deer three years ago. I just saw one on July 4th 2005, on Ridge Rd. I have seen in the past a family of them. I thought I was the only one who saw them, I have been trying to take a picture of them, but I usally see them when I don't have a camera handy.

 

[woodjin]

Thought you were crazy huh?LOL They are pretty cool to see and they seem to time it out when you never have a camera. The first time I saw them, it was a buck in a recently burnt over area. The white against the charred trees really was amazing to see. The herd I saw frequently, eventually moved from the area but I think I know where they relocated. Ridge road is not very far from this general area. Welcome to the forum.

Jeff

 

[bigfootmorf]

the albino herd

The albino herd does live down at the end of mirror lake where it turn into swamp,near the end of ridge road.Ive seen them one at a time,and ive seen the whole herd.They are beautiful,and they always seem to come out when youre not carrying a camera.They are very tame,i was driving and pulled within 5 feet of one,and rolled down the window and made some noise,they just went on about their business.They dont have to worry about hunters,because they live between ridge road and west lakeshore dr. up and around the houses,they are as "safe" as wild deer can be.I once read that the chances of seeing multiple albino deer at once was like a million to one,well try 5 or 6 at once! As others here will attest to,ive seen it! The first time i saw them,i thought they were goats.Theres an indian legend that says if you see one,and let it pass,you will be blessed,but if you see one and release your arrow,youll have bad luck forever.I hunt in that area,and if i ever see one while hunting,i will let it pass!