Comments on: More Black Deer Spotted in Texas

By: Heather

Heather — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 07:20:53 +0000

I recently saw a black fawn with several normal brown and tan fawns in the field near my house in Gastonia, North Carolina. I was shocked because it was not only the first time I saw one, but the first time I even knew that black deer exist.

By: Lacey

Lacey — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 02:32:28 +0000

My neighbor shot a doe this morning that was white with brown spots along the barrel and neck and then completely black in the hindend. We are assuming it is a combination of piebald and melanistic. My neighbor will be calling a taxidermists tomorrow to get a full body mount.

By: Trinda Kinstle

Trinda Kinstle — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 19:35:07 +0000

I saw a black fawn running with a very light tan colored fawn in the country of Jacksonville, Illinois. There is also a white one in the same area.

By: Raymond

Raymond — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 03:54:22 +0000

I am a landscaper of the Northwest Hills and I have seen a “black” buck and fawns several times. The buck has about 8 points now. I’ve worked in this area for 35 years and never seen a black deer. Recently in the last years, I haven’t seen the black deer in two years and beginning to be a little worried of their fate.

By: Buck Manager

Buck Manager — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:58:53 +0000

Heather, color variation in deer is common, even among those that we consider normally colored. I suspect that the buck you harvested is just of the dark end of the “normal” white-tailed deer color spectrum.

Melanistic deer are usually very dark brown to black, but genes can do funny things when they recombine (from parents) within offspring.