Albino deer. Most have heard of white deer or at least thought about seeing one, but what’s the deal with albino white-tailed deer? Among the questions most often asked is, “What causes some whitetail deer to be albinos?” Well, although albino deer a rare for the most part, albinism is not.
Albinism is typically a recessive trait found in many animals including mammals, birds, reptiles, fish and even plants! Albino animals do not have the gene for normal coloration and do not produce the enzyme responsible for skin, hair, and tissue coloration. The result of this genetic oddity is the total absence of body pigment — so albinos just looks white.
White Deer and Other Albinos
In addition to a lack of body pigment, the eyes of an albino deer and other animals are pink because blood vessels behind the lenses show through the un-pigmented irises. As you might have guessed, albinism is not a great trait for an animal, either predator or prey, unless they live in areas with constant snow cover, constant darkness or possibly even high up in the sky.
Obviously, being totally white year-round makes concealment in most deer habitat difficult. To make matters worse, many albinos generally have poor eyesight, which is another genetic factor linked with albinism.
Albino Deer are Rare
Animals that lack pigmentation and have poor eyesight are not common on the surface of the earth. Perhaps that is why albino deer are rare: A lack of camouflage combined with poor eyesight increase the likelihood of fatal attacks by deer predators.
The truth is that plants and animals are constantly adapting through chances i the gene pool, though the process can take hundreds or even thousands of years to impart appreciable changes. Typically, a gene will only be passed on through a population if the traits that those genes control are beneficial to an animal. However, some traits, such as albinism, can be carried by individual animals and not necessarily be exhibited.
Facts About White, Albino Deer
Because albinism is a recessive trait, both buck (father) and doe (mother) must carry the gene before it even has the possibility to be expressed in their offspring. It is a fact that an albino deer bred to another albino would have only albinos.
An albino bred to a normal brown and white deer (with no recessive genes for albinism) would produce only normally-pigmented white-tailed deer. Offspring from this cross would carry the recessive gene for albinism, but would be normally colored.
When two deer (parents) that are carriers of albinism breed there is a one-in-four chance they will produce an albino fawn. As I mentioned earlier, recessive genetic traits typically become less common unless they confer a survival advantage or are artificially enhanced for expression through selective breeding.
The Odds of an Albino Deer
Based on deer hunter reports, only about one deer in 30,000 whitetail is an albino deer! However, it must be pointed out that not all white deer are true albinos. Some white whitetails have normally pigmented noses, eyes and hooves. In that instance, it would only be a genetic mutation for hair color but not other pigments.
Today, while walking the trail north from St. John’s Church on Bear Island, New Hampshire, we encountered what looked like an albino white-tailed deer. At first it looked like a goat, but as we got closer it jumped and took off through the woods. It was definitely a deer. Has anyone ever noticed one in this area? I will be sure to take the camera into the woods tomorrow.
My husband and I have an albino doe coming to our tree stand with what I believe is her mother. The deer is about a year old and is a sight to see! We live in the southern part of West Virginia.
I have a true albino deer who hangs around my house in South Jersey. Today, I was standing in my front yard and it passed by me at 20 feet.
I saw one in my neighbor’s yard. Got a grainy video of it. I have seen it a couple of times now. I am in Charlottesville, Virginia.
David has seen an albino doe for the past 2 days on Interstate 80 between Newton and Colfax, Iowa. If she is still there this weekend he is gonna try to get some photos of the ghost deer!
I’ve seen one probably a dozen times driving through Pierce Township Ohio, just outside of Cincinnati. I finally got some photos of it.
I have been seeing an albino doe on west side Tulsa, Oklahoma, recently.
The deer hangs out with 3 normally colored whitetail does.
We observed an albino doe in Harnett County, North Carolina. She stood still long enough for my husband to get some great pics. She is totally white, with big pink ears, but it looks like her eyes have some blue to them. Does this mean she is not 100% albino?
Burlington, North Carolina: I never knew albino deer existed until one morning I was standing in my doorway letting my dogs out and one came up beside the house. I don’t live in an area with thick woods either. I was so startled because I had just woken up. It was so surreal and beautiful! I really hope I get to see him again. Reading these post made me realize I probably will someday!
I saw the albino doe along Interstate 80 between Newton and Colfax, Iowa on Friday, November 19, 2010. She is still in the area.
I saw 2 albino deer at the same time this evening… it was the craziest thing I had ever seen. How common is that?
Since June, I’ve had an albino white doe living on my farm near Arabi, Georgia. In June she was a fawn. At first I thought someone’s goat had gotten out, but after watching her for a few minutes I realized she was a deer. Now she’s nearly full grown and quite a sight to behold. I normally see her once a week.
I saw an albino deer with a single brown spot on it. The deer was in my neighbors yard with 4 others. What a great sight to see on Christmas Eve! I have also seen a white squirrel in the past. Who would have thought… in Charlotte, North Carolina!?!?!
I have a true albino buck. It is a full body mount and has 11 points; two are drop tines and has a third one broken off. It field dressed at 198 pounds. It’s a beautiful site to see. Should I insure it? And for how much?
I saw an albino fawn, which I took a picture of, a few weeks ago then again yesterday on my way home. I live in Courtland, Virginia. I stopped my truck so my wife could see it. I hope I get the chance to take some more pictures of this rare but beautiful creature.
I saw an albino fawn deer today in Hamilton Twp., NJ. I could hardly believe it. It was beautiful.
My husband and I saw an albino deer last week near our home in Guthrie, Oklahoma. We asked around and found out there is a rather large population of white deer in this county.
Saw an albino deer at the crack of dawn yesterday in a suburb of Charlotte, North Carolina.
Saw an albino deer with a brown head playing with two other deer in Gumboro, Delaware. Could not believe my eyes!
I know someone that found a newborn solid white fawn on the road during a storm that produced a tornado. The mother did not appear after waiting for several minutes. She is caring for the fawn, but is unsure of the law regarding keeping a found fawn in Virginia. Any comments?
Judy, unfortunately is sounds like your friend abducted the fawn. The mother was probably nearby, but a wild deer should not be expected to approach a human. I am not intimately familiar with Virginia law, but if they are like most states, then my guess is that your friend is illegally possessing the deer. At this point, it would be best if the fawn was turned over to someone registered for wildlife rehab. Call your state wildlife office.
This evening while driving through the countryside looking for deer, my husband and I saw a white deer with a group of seven regular whitetail. It was a cool sight. We often drive around looking for deer, but it is the first time we have ever seen a white one. St. Johns, MI.
Me and my girlfriend seen one yesterday, up close. Two bay deer were by the side of Route 6 outside Honesdale, Pennsylvania. We got out of the car to chase them from the edge of the road where they were lying down, one was white, the other tan. I was 5 feet away from them. Both fawns.
I live south of Ozark Missouri, near Branson and the Mark Twain forest and today near dusk I saw my first albino deer. We turned around to get a better view and she had run back into the forest. Today was my brother-in-laws stem cell transplant after many months of battling cancer and I am taking this as a sacred sign from God that things will be alright.
I just saw my first all white deer in Maine. This one was a youngster with 3 other fawns.
My husband has a full mount albino buck. How much are these worth? In every good condition?
I saw an albino fawn here in Durham, North Carolina (Third Fork Creek Trail area). I too thought it must be a goat, until I got closer and saw it eating the tall grasses with a fellow fawn! It was so beautiful and unique. I felt like I’d seen a unicorn! 🙂
We have an albino doe behind our house. She was a twin and is now 4 years old. When my wife saw her for the first time she said, “Look, there’s a goat in the yard!” We live near The Lake of The Ozarks in Missouri.
I never even knew these existed before tonight! I was driving home just a little bit ago and an albino doe ran out in front of me in the road. It had spots, and I’d never seen anything like it, so I sat there dumbfounded trying to figure out what I was looking at. Now that I’ve done some Googling and can see how relatively rare they are, I wish I’d thought to get a picture with my phone before it got past the tree line… I live in Phenix City, Alabama.
Saw an albino deer today and took a photo. I think it was a doe because it was mature with no antlers. Seen in Calvert County, Maryland
I saw an albino deer in Franconia Notch, New Hampshire.
I saw one in Crete, Illinois, taking a back road to a friend’s house. While thinking about God and life and salvation… stepping out of the trees was a huge white deer with red eyes. Albino. I stopped the car and it stepped out into the road. Very close to me. About sixty feet. Walked slowly and with ease… leaped into the next property, over the ditch. So so beautiful. Its funny how we see albino animals as special and albino humans seemed to be pitied.
On the way to school this morning my 15 year old daughter said there was a white deer in a field we drive by every day. I told her she was nuts, pulled a U-turn and we went back to look. I was floored to see an all white buck! We could not get close enough to see if his eyes were pink, but we could not see any other color variations on him. I would love to hear opinions on this as we are not hunters and don’t know much about the deer we see in our neighborhood. Lehi in Utah.
I saw a white deer in the woods along the highway tonite in Columbus, Ohio. It was standing next to a standard white tail deer. I never knew there was anything other than a standard brown.
We have an albino deer living on our farm in Keswick, Virginia. We first spotted it in the early summer as a fawn, and she/he stayed with a group of deer all summer and into fall. It has been spotted once or twice in early winter, but we have not seen it lately. We shall see.
I am 65 years old, have spent many more days in the woods than not, but have never seen an albino white tailed deer until yesterday, Jan 15, 2012, in Durham, North Carolina. The sighting lasted 30 minutes. Four attentive regular brown deer accompanied and seemedly looked after the albino. The brown deer watched me for a movement that would verify their instincts. I did not move. The deer was beautiful. I hope to get a photo in the future…. without intruding.
I was just driving home tonight, Feb 14 2012. And I thought I was seeing a very large white dog crossing the road into the bushes, as I got closer I stopped my car, it was an albino deer, all alone. I didn’t even know deer could look like that. My friend was with me, and she even had her jaw drop. It happened in Reynoldsville/Rathmel, Pennsylvania. I think its a good omen to see a deer that pretty, sense its not an everyday thing. Happy Valentines Day to me =)
I drive a school bus in Fort White, Florida, and saw what I thought at first was a large dog chasing a group of deer this morning. It was not, it was a deer too! This deer was mostly white but it also had brown markings on it. Piebald. If the students hadn’t seen the same thing, I would not have believed my eyes!
My husband and I were driving on Mithcellville Road in Bowie, Maryland (2/15/12) when I spotted a white dear in the woods. I had my husband turn the car around because he did not believe me. Sure enough, it was still there and I got out of car and took pictures. What a sight!!
I saw a white deer in Texas the other night. My friend and her husband saw the same deer a few nights later. Was beautiful!
I saw an albino whitetail deer this morning in North Durham on Roxboro Road around 8:40. Maybe the same one you saw, Bob?
I saw an albino deer today on the American Tobacco Trail, Durham, North Carolina.
We are also in Bowie. A white deer, likely same one mentioned here, runs with a group in out back yard. Reported to DNR, they said there were about 1,500 albinos in Maryland likely safe in Bowie. I guess he does not know RT3 South & North!
On May 22, 2012 I saw my first albino deer on my way to work about 0630 just outside of Marshfield, WI. Absolutely stunning!
Okay, this is the most strange thing I have ever seen: This buck was half brown to the hind legs then speckled white to all white in rear of animal. Went to take picture buck some other person also spotted it and ran directly towards it. This startled the buck and it ran in the woods. It was with a group of “normal” brown deer. Parma, Ohio on June 5, 2012 around 4:00 p.m.
Sheila, it sounds like a piebald.
I saw an Albino buck in my yard a few years ago. He scared me! His body was all white yet his eyes were red. He hung around for a week. I never seen him again. There are a few piebald deer around that are mostly white with dark spots. They hang out with the other brown spotted deer.
While picking up my CSA farm share, I saw an 80% white buck and 100% white fawn. Behind them were five “regular” brown fawns and a brown doe.
Yesterday, my brotherinlaw and I went for a walk near a power line that had just been cut back. We saw a deer that was mostly white, but still had a fair amount of brown fur on its body. This is the second time I saw a deer like this in the same area in the last five years. I live in Fredericton, New Brunswick Canada.
I have a young albino deer that comes out every afternoon just before night fall at my house. He is last year’s fawn because he is so small. I live in the southern part of Alabama. Never seen one this far south.