We all know what normally colored white-tailed deer look like. Sure, the color of their hair may change seasonally, and even vary a bit between individual deer, but whitetails tend to be some shade of brown combined with white on the throat, belly, and under the tail. However, some color variations exists, and more on each is found below:
Piebald: Piebald whitetails have patches of white hair but are otherwise normally colored. Piebalds are thought to be more common than albinos, and I have seen far more photos of piebald deer than albino deer. Depending on the part of the United States you are from, piebald deer are sometimes referred to as pintos.
Melanistic: Melanistic white-tailed deer are very dark, often approaching totally black. Melanism results from overproduction of pigment and is far less common than albinism. Hunters do see dark deer with some frequency, but to witness an actual melanistic deer is rare.
Albino: Albino white-tailed deer are totally white, and true albinos have pink eyes from a lack of pigement in their eyes. Albanism results from recessive genes and is more common than melanism.
Note: Protecting piebald, melanistic, and albino deer from hunting would concentrate those genes in a closed environment, but would probably have little to no biological impact in an open system (and probably would not result in an increase of these traits).
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.
Everyone likes to hear about albino deer — and I think everyone would even love the opportunity to harvest an albino buck simply as a novely. But guess what? On this season deer hunting opener in Minnesota, a female hunter managed to harvest one of the rarest colored white-tailed deer around — an albino buck! Yep, hunter Mary Rakotz of Avon got the 6-point buck on Saturday in Mille Lacs County, Minnesota.
The hunter said it was thrilling to see the abnormally-colored animal, but it was 100 times more exciting to be able to actually take the white-colored buck home. Here is what Ms. Rakotz had to say:
“I had heard that it might be in the area, so I thought that here was my chance of a lifetime. So I had to creep a little bit, probably about 40 yards, to get a good place where I could steady myself a little bit. But then I did that and shot and the buck went right down.”
And as rare of a harvest as it is, the hunter says she’s not sure if she has room to mount the buck, but her family and friends are pretty excited for her, and maybe even a little jealous.
The albino buck was only a 6-point deer and I doubt it’s very old (and sorry about the photo, it was the best available). However, in most cases ablino deer just do not get to live very long, because oddly colored deer don’t last long in the woods for obvious reasons. Not many hunters are going to pass on a shot at a once in a lifetime opportunity.
Here are some photos of an albino white-tailed deer that I came across recently. The really odd thing is not only is being an albino mammal rare, but the fact that this is actually a mature buck is a miracle! Natural predators and hunters alike will hone in on oddly colored deer, even in areas where deer management and controlled harvests take place.
This whitetail buck can be identified as an albino deer — and not a piebald deer — by examining both his eyes and nose. Take a good look and you can see exactly what I am talking about.
The pink eye and the pink nose are textbook signs that this deer is an albino. At first glance, I noticed the brown on his head and near the base of the antlers and thought that maybe this buck was not an albino, but then I realized that the brown color comes from the buck rubbing his antlers on trees as a result of a rising testerone level, which triggers increased aggression as the breeding season begins .
Bucks will commonly rub their antlers once annual antler growth stops to rid themselves of decaying velvet. In addition, this activity helps strengthen their neck and shoulders prior to the breeding season.
Albino Buck Pics
Mature Albino Buck
Often times, I will see or be sent photos that feature albino deer, but it is a rare occasion to actually see a mature albino animal, especially a buck! The main reason albinos rarely get old (in the wild) is because a white coloration is not always favorable to animals living in North America, as very few places have snow on the ground throughout the year.
White colored deer really stick out during the spring and summer, although they blend in much better during the winter in the snow-covered areas of the country. However, much of the whitetail’s range is devoid of snow, even during the fall and winter.
Albino white-tailed deer may be neat to see, but did you know that a true albino occurs in only one of out of 100,000 births and very few fawns survive beyond the first year of life? It’s absolutely true. For an albino deer to live over just a few years in the wild is extremely unusual, almost unheard of. But if you think about the high mortality rate of these anomalies, it actually makes sense for a number of reasons. Unfortunately, these facts offer no comfort to an albino.
First, most of the whitetail’s range consists of habitat that is dominated by the colors green and brown—not white. The whitetail’s range includes the entire western-half of the US. Most of that area has a relatively long growing season, especially the south. Albino deer definitely have the odds in their favor during the winter season in snow-covered areas, but the deck is still stacked against them over the remainder of the year in most places.
VIDEO: Albino Buck in White County, illinois
Seeing an Albino: The Odds are Against You
Animal coloration is based on the process of natural selection within all wildlife species. The coloration best suited for survival becomes the dominant (normal) color within a species. There are always abnormalities within a species, but most are relatively small variations of the norm. Albino animals are quite the opposite. They stand out!
Color mutations occur infrequently overall in deer and other wildlife, but if those color variations were well-suited for the environment, then those “oddly” colored animals would survive to breed and pass on their genes. If genetics cause an animal to stick out, such as a white deer in a primarily green or brown environment, then the animal will be more noticeable to natural predators, including humans.
This results in the animal being depredated by a coyote or wolf, or possibly harvested by a hunter simply because it’s much easier to see. In either case, the color abnormality does not benefit the white animal. This increased level of mortality is Mother Nature’s way of saying “no.” There is no doubt that albino deer would have the upper hand in a perennial, snow-laden landscape.
In such a situation, albino deer would have the upper hand on both two and four-legged predators, the number of white-colored animals would increase and soon begin to comprise the majority of the breeding population.
True Albino or Just White?
The albino whitetail buck seen above is a true albino deer. In cases of true albinism, albino deer lack pigmentation in the hair, skin, and, in the case of deer, the iris of the eyes. However, eyes can be pink or blue and the hoofs a pale gray. In some areas, albino deer are even protected by law. In the state of Wisconsin, for example, white and albino deer are protected from hunting.
However, most states do not protect deer with color abnormalities. In addition, deer and other wildlife can be white in color without being albinos. Leucism is a partial loss of pigmentation, which can cause an animal to look white without the animal being an actual albino.
To sum up, albinos are interesting animals in general, and albino white-tailed deer, specifically, are really cool. Albino deer are genetic phenomenons that physically do not make sense, at least in most cases, within their natural environment. However, under certain environmental conditions, such as in areas where snow cover remains throughout the year, it would be the best thing going.
So although most of us will never see a wild albino deer, if you do, then just consider the odds, then consider yourself lucky. Next, go buy a lotto ticket!
