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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region Forums(Kinda) rare deer in my back yard today.
(X referenced from Photography forum for wildlife lovers)
Though I live in the business area of a small town, I have a creek that runs behind my house, so it's not unusual to see deer grazing in the back yard.
Today I saw one and began scouring the tree line for what I expected to be more. I saw some rustling, and got my binoculars for a better view. When I realized what I was looking at, I ran to get my camera.
By the time I got ready and sneaked out the side door what I think are mother and doe emerged into the yard. The little one is a relatively rare piebald deer, one with a recessive gene that causes partial albino-ism:
The larger one that I believe to be the mother, heard me and kept a weary eye my way, even though I only had my upper body out the door and zoomed in 20X. Here she decided I wasn't going away and took the initiative herself:
The piebald fawn seemed more aloof and stuck around a bit as if to see what all the fuss was about:
Then it finally went off to be with mom:
Surprisingly, the first deer that I saw came back out to take one more pass through the yard. I don't know for sure, but I think this is an older sibling to the piebald:
elfin
(6,262 posts)I didn't know of that melanistic pattern in deer.
Liberal_in_LA
(44,397 posts)JohnnyRingo
(18,696 posts)It's Walnut Run Creek, and feeds into Mosquito Lake (How do you like that, tourists?) near this small city of 6,500.
A lot of wildlife follow the creek and wanders up the hill to my house fairly often. The other good thing about where I live is out front. Right next door is a Dollar General. The other way is a closed curio shop, then a Chinese restaurant beyond that. Across the street is my bank which is between the post office and auto parts store. In that same strip plaza is a Famous Hair, doctor's office, and pizza shop. Grocery and convenience stores are a short 15 minute walk. I have no human neighbors.
I don't know why I own two cars.
Texasgal
(17,049 posts)Thanks for sharing!
treestar
(82,383 posts)Tuesday Afternoon
(56,912 posts)blaze
(6,396 posts)Very cool shots!
AzSweet
(102 posts)DonP
(6,185 posts)Of course my camera battery was dead, but my grand daughter got some shots of it.
Regular albino deer are about 1 in 30,000. I have no idea how rare a piebald would be.
CaliforniaPeggy
(149,831 posts)And oh you lucky dog....living with a creek and some deer right there in your back yard!
This is just stunning.
DonRedwood
(4,359 posts)I miss seeing deer and moose and bear and other critters.
Brigid
(17,621 posts)They're beautiful.
a la izquierda
(11,803 posts)We have tons of deer in our yard (we're renting on a 1000 acre plot). I love deer.
catbyte
(34,546 posts)What part of the country is this?
JohnnyRingo
(18,696 posts)I live very near Mosquito Lake. Apparently the area's forefathers had a terrific fear of tourists.
NRaleighLiberal
(60,038 posts)we haven't seen him around in nearly a year. Just gorgeous....
littlemissmartypants
(22,868 posts)Thank you so much!
RoccoR5955
(12,471 posts)Just a different breed of rat.
They eat up our gardens, even when we have them fenced off.
They run into our cars,
and some people think that they are cute.
I just wish there weren't so many people invading their territory.
I didn't do anything for them to invade my life so much!
Brigid
(17,621 posts)RoccoR5955
(12,471 posts)Brigid
(17,621 posts)kurtzapril4
(1,353 posts)And your pix are great. Please don't post them anywhere else....a piebald deer is a great trophy for hunters. I know, I come from a family of them.
JohnnyRingo
(18,696 posts)I imagine if his luck changed and he got hungry enough he'd be hauling one home though.
Perhaps is a regional superstition. Such unfounded fears have been known to mess with natural selection and increase the population of mutations, as in the Emperor Crab.
hexola
(4,835 posts)Pretty sure thats the superstition.
JohnnyRingo
(18,696 posts)I didn't see this one right away because it's dappled coat made it blend in with the folliage. By the time I got my camera it'd emerged from the tree line.
mike dub
(541 posts)but didn't have the camera with us.
The one we saw was almost entirely white. I saw it first, up on a ridge to the right and pointed it out to my wife. The deer stared at us for a few seconds and then bolted. We both knew we'd seen something special. The park ranger had never heard of such a deer being spotted on the preserve.
Apparently mutations occur in individual white-tail deer from time to time.
Great pics, OP!!
nadinbrzezinski
(154,021 posts)in a sec...
southernyankeebelle
(11,304 posts)I see deer running around here and rabbits, squirrels, possums, and coyotes sometimes. Spotting deers especially the babies is so neat and peaceful. Thank you for sharing your picture.
Spitfire of ATJ
(32,723 posts)....assume some corporation did some dumping.....
DrewFlorida
(1,096 posts)It looks like the mother has a bit of discoloring on her hind quarter.
Thank you for posting these pics, much appreciated.
uppityperson
(115,681 posts)We had an albino buck on a local military base yrs ago. It resulted in many of these spotted deer. Some idiot shot him one night (got in big trouble for it). I am happy to see other albino mixes like these. Very fun and interesting.
Samantha
(9,314 posts)They are so, so beautiful.
Sam
Iwillnevergiveup
(9,298 posts)at the right time. Just stunning photos, and SO much cooler than Mitt!
Thank you. K&R
kittykitty
(1,091 posts)We had doe with one piebald and one normal fawn.. Unfortunately I can't post a picture because I am using an iPad.
My husband took pictures of the fawn. Then he took our cat to the vet. The first thing the vet said was, " have you seen any of the white deer?"
BTW, your photos are great!
emmadoggy
(2,142 posts)have shorter, stockier legs than the others?
Just an observation. Very pretty though!
JohnnyRingo
(18,696 posts)Longer than usual tail too. In the one pic it almost looks like a large dog.
hexola
(4,835 posts)We've been seeing piebalds somewhat regularly. I've seen more this year - than all years combined before.
kittykitty
(1,091 posts)laruemtt
(3,992 posts)for years, i still find these deer breathtakingly beautiful...