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.
My husband and my son and I saw an albino deer this evening. We live in Garrett County, Maryland. It was amazing!
I have an albino deer that lives in my backyard. I live in wakeforest nc
My son, husband, and I saw an albino deer in a corn field in Kansasville, WI. I thought it was a goat, until I saw it run. Very cool!
I just saw my very first Albino deer! I didn’t even know they existed. He was not just amazing, he was breath-taking. I just stopped and watched him. Why people can’t see the beauty in some animals is beyond me. North Carolina
Hey, I shot an albino whitetail doe in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia, Canada about 3 years ago. She was 110 lbs and a beautiful animal to truly see.
I just saw an albino whitetail buck today. He was the most gorgeous thing I’ve ever seen! I got to within 50 feet of him and tried to take pictures on my cell phone, but they didn’t turn out that well. He had a very nice rack. I live in Southwestern Pennsylvania. What a rare and beautiful sight. We shall se if he makes it through hunting season.
My wife and I were traveling to Austin, Texas last Thursday November 13, 2008 and 8 to 10 miles north of Lampasas on Hwy 281 she saw a albino deer on a wheat field on the west side of the highway. We turned around and returned to the field and to our amazement their was four albino deer less than 100 yards from the highway. I had binoculars to make sure what we were witnessing. One was a spike and the rest were does. I am trying to contact our local game warden to confirm with the Lampasas game warden.
My boyfriend hunts a good bit and he saw an albino 4 point the other morning. I also see one almost every morning in the back corner of a field right in the city limits where I work in Lousiville, MS.
This morning I saw a white deer in woods behind my house. Never knew such deer even existed. At first I thought it was a goat. Did not get close enough to be able to tell if it was a true albino, but what an amazing sight! The location is near Pittsville in Wicomico County, Maryland.
My friend and I saw an albino buck while fishing in California. It was a 2 point buck. This happened the Tuesday beforeThanksgiving in the Central Valley of California. An amazing sight! I did get some pics on a poloroid, but not very clear. Ralph Tonseth, Dec. 8, 2008
Hi Lauren of WakeForest,
I live in Youngsville, NC and there is a true albino living my neighborhood here. I keep corn put out and I have taken many pics of him in my backyard. He comes by daily. He is a buttonhead buck and appears to be about a year old. I have seen a lot of albinos around the Franklin County area, which is unbelievable to me.
I saw my first albino deer south of Charlottesville, VA. Amazing!
Not sure where you guys live, but I have been tracking and photographing an albino doe outside of Wake Forest. The deer appears to be about 3 years old and is stunning. I hope she makes it through the hunting season.
I have also seen a buck in Youngsville, but I have not been able to get any pics of him.
After the usuall christmas dinner , king ranch casaroel ect the father and i sat down to read a few articles from buckmanager, the questions came up about albino deer , Neither one of us have ever seen such creature but the the remebrance of a solid black deer (whitetail) was brought up . Is this posible ? well If I can find the picture from about 20 years ago I will post it. The deer was takin outside of austin texas by my father. The ranch is longer there and like all other land in the area is in concrete now.
I just saw an albino deer in the suburbs of Pittsburgh, PA, and it was beautiful!
Perhaps you did not know that albino deer are considered sacred by the Native American tribes of the United States.
I have a friend who has seen an albino deer while driving to work past my house, but I have not seen one yet. But I am hoping, so maybe this year!!
I saw an albino deer this morning (2/17/09) driving to work through Leesburg, Virginia.
My family and I saw an albino deer Sunday morning (2/22/09) around 6:30am. We were driving east on Route 118 in Columbia County, Pennsylvania (between Rts. 239 and 487). The deer ran right in front of our car with another deer, both heading north. Awesome sight.
I could not believe my eyes! This morning (3/10/09) around 7:00 AM, I looked out into our woods and an albino whitetail deer was playing with 3 other normal color deer. Living here for over 20 years, my husband and I have never seen an albino deer in our woods before in Essex, Illinois. Did not get a good picture — it was too far our for our camera. What a beautiful sight and nice way to start the day.
My husband and I were taking a ride on our motorcycle in the country and slowed down to look at something in a wooded area. It was an albino deer and it was looking right at us. We stayed and watched for around 3 minutes. We live in Marion, Illinois.
I saw an albino deer on my way home from work on Tuesday March 10th around 5:15 pm. It was approximately 1 1/2 miles South of Gibson City, Illinois and about 1 mile East of Route 47. I had never seen one before and wasn’t sure what I was looking at at first. Then I saw another regular colored white-tail deer beside it, and I knew it had to be an albino deer. Truely amazing! Now I look for it every day on my way to work and on my way home in the evening. I hope to see it again. Next time I’ll try to snap a picture of it!
I just saw a albino deer tonight!!! It kind of startled me becaue I didnt know they existed, and it was dark. The deer was pretty much all white, but it had a couple of brown spots on its face and side.
Georgette-
The white-tailed deer you saw may not have been an albino if it had spots on its body. It sounds like it could be a piebald deer.
I saw a white deer on my way home this afternoon traveling through Alamance County, North Carolina, in a wooded area. I couldn’t wait to get home and check the Internet. I did not know that albino deer existed so it really was an awesome sight.
I believe you are correct. It did look more like the piebald deer than an albino.I was trying to get a picture of it but it was too dark and I was kind of startled. Had not seen a deer like that before. I saw the deer in West Point, Virginia.
I first spotted an albino deer in our woods last summer. We have watched it grow and have enjoyed it very much. I’m afraid “Whitey” won’t survive each season, but there she is back again and again.
I was privileged enough to watch an adult doe and its three fawns, one of which was an albino. They gradually made their way down a tree-covered hill side into a small field, across a road with a drainage ditch on either side, and between two houses–grazing the entire way. The process took roughly 20 minutes and it was worth sitting still for that long! It was simply amazing watching the amount of protection the three “normal” deer were providing to the albino. So cool. This took place in the city limits of Cape Girardeau, Missouri.
I saw a white deer with black spots about the size of my hand at the eastern entrance to The Great Smokey Mountains National Park on March 23,2009. It was going up the bank and I was not able to see if it was a buck or doe.
I have seen an albino deer in Youngsville two times. Both times it has been seen off of Hicks Road near Cedar Creek Middle School. My wife and I watched it for five minutes. We were amazed! The albino deer was with two other young doe both times, but the other two were normal whitetail.
Scott
My aunt has an albino deer in her back yard. Beautiful and unbelievable. She lives in middle Tennessee.
I just saw a lovely piebald doe just a few minutes ago drinking at my pond (4/5/09)! She had a dark nose, eyes, and hooves. The deer had these caramel colored spots just like an Appaloosa, two caramel ears, two large caramel spots encircling her eyes, white front feet, and striped hind legs, perfectly symetrical, with a large black oval spot on her tail. Amazing!!! The piebald was with a group of does, but clearly not part of the pack. She did not know what to make of the goose floating toward her in the pond and bounded away, only to come back and check him out again with curiosity.
I just saw my first white deer. It was standing in the woods along Blackburn Road in Sewickley Heights, Pennsylvania. What an amazing animal to see! It’s like a life changing feeling you get. I feel blessed to have seen this beautiful deer.
Last evening, I saw for the first time an albino deer. The doe was in a field along Ridge Road in Gibsonia, Pennsylvania. What a stunning sight!
On May 2, 2009, my wife and I, alerted by our dog, saw a pure white deer in our back yard in Eagles Mere, Pennsylvania at 6:00 a.m. The locals told us that it is a common sighting on the mountain, and about 20 years ago there were quite a few in the vicinity. It was an unforgettable sight.
We saw a white albino deer in Hillsborough, North Carolina, very late at night in March 2008 at Orange Grove Road and Eno Mountain Road.
There is an albino deer in my neighborhood in Forest Hills, Tennessee, a suburb of Nashville. Three to four times a week I see it in my front yard with his siblings. I have been able to take many pictures. The deer was born last year and it’s always a treat when he’s around.
My wife and I live in town in Columbia, Missouri. The back of our lot is wooded and we see whitetail deer there frequently. A couple of nights ago we spotted what appeared to be a newborn albino fawn with its mother.
My husband and I live in Dandridge, Tennessee, area and we recently saw an albino deer. It was the first white whitetail deer we have seen in this area. We hope to see it more often.
I read an interesting report of a herd of deer which had apparently rejected an albino member, refusing to allow it to travel with them. It stayed nearby, but alone. Interestingly enough, the local wolves left it alone, stalking the normal colored weak and old of the herd. It seems they did not recognize it as prey because it was white and not part of a herd.
I live in Dandridge, Tennessee, also and I saw an albino deer this morning in my neighborhood.
I live in Arlington, Tennessee. I saw what I think was an albino deer this morning playing with some other brown deer in the tree line outside in the back of my house this morning. I had heard of one by some neighbors, but had not seen it until this morning. It was an awesome site. I didn’t get close enough, obviously, to see if it had pink eyes, but it was pure white snow.
I saw an albino whitetail deer at 5:00 pm this evening along the side of the freeway near Holly, Michigan. I wasn’t sure what it was at first. I got to watch him for about 10 minutes before he moved on. Very cool.
My daughters and I just saw an albino whitetail deer at 8:40 pm CST in southern Cook County, Illinois. It was a doe. This really was the most beautiful animal I had ever seen. This doe was about 10 feet away from us and white as snow. There is no hunting in Cook County, so I plan on seeing her again.
My husband and I were coming back from Erie, Pennsylvania, on 6/22/09 – while driving though southern tier expressway on the side of the guardrail we spotted an albino deer that was waiting to cross the road. I am very happy to say that he waited. Perhaps it is because I bought my husband a set of those deer whistlers to put on the front of his truck. Not sure, but a good looking ablino buck!
I keep seeing a huge albino whitetail buck every summer, but then when the season rolls around and the snow is on the ground, he is nowhere to be found. I am in Long Island, New York.
Upon traveling the 20-25 minute trip home from Westerville, Ohio to Centerburg, Ohio on 7-2-09, I was commanded to a sudden stop (with an unusually long line of traffic behind me!), when a doe appeared from the woods, about to cross the country road. Behind her followed a very normal pigmented fawn and a second fawn which astonished me….an albino. With a Father and brother who were avid hunters and conservationists, I was surprised that I had never heard any conversation about albino Whitetails. But in a conversation with my brother shortly following my encounter, he said that yes they do exist, but I gather that he had never seen one (Adirondack area) other than one or two in captivity. My brother emailed me with this website for more information!
Ann Jensen/ July 5, 2009
I saw a white deer Friday July 24. It was on near Crozet. I had to do a double take, it was beautiful.
I don’t know if these are considered Albino deer but we have these two deer that are babies , all white except for their heads , they are brown. I have never seen anything like them. I tried to get pictures of them grazing, but they run, of course. I will keep trying. They are amazing to see. We live in Wawa Pa.