Piebald Deer – What are They?
BuckManager.com | Deer Coloration
A piebald is an animal, usually a horse, that has a spotting pattern of large white and black patches. The colour of the horse’s skin underneath its coat may vary between black (under the black patches of hair) and pink (under the white patches). The colouring is generally asymmetrical. Many animals also exhibit coloration of the irises of the eye that match the surrounding skin. This condition also occurs in white-tailed deer.
A genetic variation (defect) produces the piebald condition in white-tailed deer, not parasites or diseases. Piebald deer are colored white and brown similar to a pinto pony. Sometimes they appear almost entirely white. In addition to this coloration, many have some of the following observable conditions: bowing of the nose (Roman nose), short legs, arching spine (scoliosis), and short lower jaws. This genetic condition is rare with typically less than one percent of white-tailed deer being affected.
Read article: Residents Fawning Over Rare Deer
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Most of the information about piebald deer state that this is a genetic defect and the animals are inferior. In this article they also say that often the color pattern is associated with several other physical abnormalities. It is more interesting that every picture (this page included) shows piebald deer with no physical problems. Both piebald and white are often dominant traits. While this was a gene mutation at some point, it being a dominant trait does not indicate inbreeding.
Dr Ray Favero, PhD | Feb 26, 2008 | Reply
I have been hunting whitetail deer for eighteen seasons now and never have seen a piebald until this evening.
It was beautiful to watch and I only wish I had a camera with me.
Rick | Nov 1, 2008 | Reply
I took my first piebald deer on November 1, 2008 at 5:00 pm. It will be one of my trophy bucks. A beautiful deer.
chad herring | Nov 3, 2008 | Reply
This was a rainy wet afternoon and I finally out-smarted a piebald doe I that have been watching for over 2 years. I got her. She is beautiful. I took her to my taxidermist this evening. Can’t wait to get her full body mount back!
Leigh | Nov 4, 2008 | Reply
I was hunting on opening day and saw a piebald deer and took it. When I brought it to get it recorded the guy told me I had a rare deer. It was not until later that I found out how rare it was. The deer is not all white, but the legs are solid white and it looks beautiful. I can’t wait for the mount.
Ben St.Amand | Nov 14, 2008 | Reply
My husband and I saw a Piebald deer tonight in Florida. It was the most beautiful 8 point buck I have ever seen. There didn’t seem to be any defects and we were able to get very close to it. Beautiful! Only wish I had my camera with me.
Rachel Rivenbark | Nov 20, 2008 | Reply
I saw and killed my first piebald deer on opening day of (WV) buck-only season, Monday, November 24, 2008. I had to take a second-look at the spike that was coming through the mountain laurel! Truly special, even if I never see another.
Michael | Nov 29, 2008 | Reply
My husband saw a deer tonight that we came to find out was a piebald deer. We never knew they exsisted. Where did you see the 8 pt in FL? He saw it tonight in Hillsborough County. He was just sure that no one would believe him until I pulled it up. So rare!
Joanna Rheinlander | Nov 30, 2008 | Reply
I travel interstate 58 in VA almost every weekend. This weekend was memorable because I saw my first piebald deer just outside Suffolk, Virginia. It was a beautiful doe and I couldn’t believe my eyes. I just wished I had my camera as well.
BRENT JAKEWAY | Dec 1, 2008 | Reply
I saw my first piebald deer November 28, 2008. I was hunting in Noxubee Wildlife Refuge. I thought it was a goat at first, but once I looked through the scope I could tell it was a deer. The deer is an 8 point and will make a beautiful full body mount. I never thought I would see one, especially in Mississippi.
Toby Holland | Dec 3, 2008 | Reply
My daughter and I were hunting (buck) this evening just before sunset and saw a piebald doe enter the field we were watching. My daughter saw it first and thought it was a cow calf. It was truly a beautiful deer and we really enjoyed watching her.
Brian Campbell | Dec 3, 2008 | Reply
I found a piebald deer and its mother in my front yard on December 3, 2008. It is the first one I have ever seen and the first one I know about in the region of Washington state, where I live. I have about 10 pictures of it and the mother. Some of the pics are a little blurred, as I could not stop shaking at the site of this beautiful piebald deer!
Lynn Gahringer | Dec 4, 2008 | Reply
As my dad and I were starting to drag out my 10 point that I shot on the first day of buck season in Pennsylvania a few days ago, we saw a white spot across the river bank which we thought was a dog. A few minutes later a piebald doe and four other deer crossed the creek and were on a beach about 40 yards below us. I didn’t think much could upstage my buck, but this surely did. As with others, I wish I would have had a camera. It was all white with a basketball sized brown spot on its left side.
Nate Shaffer | Dec 5, 2008 | Reply
I saw my first piebald dear yesterday – in back yard in south central PA. What a beauty! I hope she and the herd of 10 she was with come back soon.
suzon stauffer | Jan 12, 2009 | Reply
I have taken 2 pictures of a piebald doe over the past 3 weeks near Williamsburg, VA. This doe does appear to have a genetic defect in that her front legs are several inches shorter then her hind legs.
Todd Price | Jan 26, 2009 | Reply
I live in Loveland, Ohio and I had a piebald deer in my back yard two days ago. It was absolutely beautiful. I called my wife and told her that she would never guess what we had in or back yard. When I told her she said that I should get the camera and take some pictures. I took 9 pictures of the animal before she walked off. That was the first one I have ever seen.
Earl Wafford | Jan 27, 2009 | Reply
I live in Monroe, North Carolina. While out on a walk, I spotted a herd of eight deer. One was a young deer, maybe 1 year old. It was almost all white or albino. The neck, chest, all four legs, and most of the sides were white. There were some grey on the top of its head and ears and down a strip of his back. I had never seen a deer marked like this before.
Penny | Feb 8, 2009 | Reply
I live in Short Hills, NJ. I observed a piebald deer on the Canoebrook Golf Course late this afternoon. It took a moment to realize that what I was looking at in the patchy snow was actually a deer. I was able to retrieve my camera from the house and sneak back outside without garnering too much attention. The photos I were able to take are not the best quality, but give me, a non-hunter, bragging rights in a family of avid hunters.
I believe the deer I observed was a piebald doe. She appeared to have all the abnormal characteristics that can accompany piebald, “bowing of the nose (Roman nose), short legs, arching spine (scoliosis), and short lower jaws.” Additionally, she has an abnormally long and thick winter coat in comparison to the “normal” deer in her small herd. To give you a mental picture, she looks like a cross between a llama and a white-tail deer. Hopefully, she will visit again soon.
Michelle | Feb 11, 2009 | Reply
This is the first time I have heard a name for these deer. I killed a piebald buck in West Virginia while home on leave from my assignment is Iceland back in 1991. I had no idea they were rare. I have some pictures and the memories of the hunt. I do remember thinking that this buck, which had one of the better racks in our hunting camp, had kind of short legs. He was a neat whitetail deer and the hunt will always be a great story.
Rocky | Feb 12, 2009 | Reply
My wife saw a piebald in our back yard and got a couple pictures of it. It has a humped back, presumably due to scoliosis. The description above of a cross between a llama and deer is accurate for our piebald. Sounds like a true rarity. Glad we got a couple pictures.
Michael | Mar 23, 2009 | Reply
I went turkey hunting with my uncle yesterday morning. I killed my first turkey and when I went home I saw two piebald deer within a mile of each other. They’re all over here in Pendleton County, West Virginia.
Addison | Apr 26, 2009 | Reply
I have always called the piebald deer I saw my half albino. It’s been coming out for three years in my front field and tonight was the first time I’ve seen it this year. The whole back end is white and looks like a cow in the pics that I have. I have another whitetail deer that is not as white, but it has just started coming out this year. Must be a descendent of the first one!
Lori | May 18, 2009 | Reply
I saw my first, second, and third piebald deer last night. A buck , a doe, and last year’s fawn. All of the deer looked perfectly healthy. The fawn is almost all white. Beautiful animals!
Dave | May 22, 2009 | Reply
This explains the beautiful, but weird deer we keep seeing around our house. At first we thought it was a goat, but it is definitely a piebald deer and apparently lives in harmony with the others. We have seen it walking with normally colored deer and none of them seemed to think anything was strange about it. We live in northwest Florida.
Christie | Jun 15, 2009 | Reply
Hi Leigh, Where do you live? We have been missing “Patches” since November 2008. We’d love to know if you found her. Here is a photo of the piebald deer.
Thanks, Shaun
Shaun | Jul 14, 2009 | Reply
Earl from Loveland…I would love to see the photos of the piebald in Loveland. Last year in Loveland I shot an 11 point piebald and he is huge. I would just like to know if it was the same deer you took pictures of! Thank you!
Jennifer Scarborough | Aug 15, 2009 | Reply
In November 1988, I killed 4 year old piebald with a 20 inch wide 8 point rack – the most beautiful deer I’ve ever seen. I shot the buck on the Yadkin River in Davie County, North Carolina. Not many piebalds make it pass 6 months old. I got a full body mount of the buck and have enjoyed looking at him everyday since. I seen a piebald doe several years later, but didn’t shoot her. My buck’s front legs were a little short, but everything else looked fine.
Vance Biesecker | Aug 28, 2009 | Reply
Five years ago I was invited to a deer lease in Santa Elena, just north of La Gloria, Texas. I saw my first
piebald doe there. It was so beautiful, I just let go.
Cesar | Sep 10, 2009 | Reply
I got my first piebald deer yesterday in Brown County, Indiana. It was two years old and quite a sight to see. No abnormal characterisitcs that can been seen other than the color. There has been quite a lot of talk about the deer since not many have ever seen or have been taken in this part of Indiana. David Hayes
David Hayes | Oct 4, 2009 | Reply
On October 10, 2009 about 6;20 p.m. in Greenville, North Carolina: My family and I were riding along Evans Street and we saw something we had never seen in our lives. My husband said It wasn’t real, It was a decoy that wildlife officials sometimes put out to slow drivers down. My daughter and I continued to watch while my husband turned around. There stood the most beautiful deer ever. The buck had big white spots on his tobacco brown body. He looked as he had been rolling in paint. We could not believe our eyes. Great piebald buck!
Diane Whichard | Oct 12, 2009 | Reply
I am hunting a farm now for the second season. My brother saw a piebald doe last year, took a shot at it, and missed it. There are 20 members of our club and over 85 deer killed on the property each year. Opening night of muzzleloader season this year, I turned down an eight point buck while waiting for a monster to come out. Much to my surprise, a 5 point piebald buck appeared and I made a good shot on him. He is about 85% white, beautiful, and I am getting a full body mount on this unique buck.
Joe L | Oct 24, 2009 | Reply
I would like to know if piebald deer are considered a risk in terms of susceptablity to disease and the spreading of disease that is considered dangerous to humans or other animals?
Catherine Maffett | Oct 25, 2009 | Reply
I had a close encounter with a piebald tonight. He was a perfect framed 6 point large body deer. I would say 50% white. I was bow hunting he came up on my right within 10 yards of me. I couldn’t get a shot but if I never see a deer the rest of this year my season is still complete. THAT TOPS ALL OF MY EXPERIENCES SO FAR!
Lisa | Nov 7, 2009 | Reply
There is a piebald deer roaming Sterling, New Jersey. It had a partner, which I don’t see anymore. The piebald is beautiful, but is much a loner.
dan | Nov 14, 2009 | Reply
I shot a piebald deer during deer hunting last year. The deer had a big long white streak on its neck, but the fawn with it was normal deer colored. The doe was about 3 or 4 years old.
Rachel | Nov 17, 2009 | Reply
White coloration is not a dominant trait in any species of animal. Typically dark coloration is much more dominant. Just look at people. Blue eyed-blond haired people are much more rare than brown eyed-brown haired people. The same with animals. White or light coloration is a recessive gene… ask any wildlife biologist.
SmartGuy | Nov 19, 2009 | Reply