Deer Color Mutations
There are so many color variations in deer, it can be tough to keep them all straight. This guide explains the differences in albino, white, piebald and more. Discover the natural biological variations observed in deer, how they emerge, and what they mean for individual animals and their ecosystems.
This genetic variation is the rarest of the three mutations and is reported to occur between 1 in 20,000-100,000 deer born. The most common of the three genetic color variations is called Piebalism. Piebalism is believed to occur in 1 out of every 1000 deer born.
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White Deer Genetics 102: Albino, Piebald, and Leucistic Deer Genetics, however, is not so simple as this chart indicates. Coat color is actually caused by many genes that affect the pigments, enzymes, and hormones involved in color production-or, in this case, the absence of color. Deer that have a genetic mutation affecting their coloration typically have physical abnormalities as well.
The skeletal deformities include shorter legs, a curved spine and shortened jaw. The aim of our investigations was to identify additional mutations that explain a wider range of color phenotypes in fallow deer. Considering the knowledge from domestic animals [3], we used a candidate gene approach.
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Dennis Money Leucism is a genetic mutation that affects pigmentation and presents somewhere between piebaldism and albinism, but leucistic deer don't have the same deficiency in melanin production that piebald and albino deer have. Only 1% of all deer (roughly 1 in 25,000) are leucistic. Most deer hunters know about albino, piebald and leucistic whitetail deer.
These color varieties can be rare depending on the location. Many hunters will go their whole lives without ever seeing one in the flesh. Although some areas may have more instances of the recessive genes that cause this mutation.
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Even then, hunters are much more likely to encounter a piebald and a lecuistic animal than. Here, we report the occurrence of color anomalies in three Neotropical deer species. Data were obtained from wildlife inventories, through direct observation, camera-traps, and/or deer carcasses, between 2011 and 2020, in three biomes-the Brazilian Savanna (Cerrado), and the Atlantic and Amazon Rain Forests.
This article was updated on May 16, 2022. Each fall, deer hunters see or harvest albino or piebald whitetails and discuss what a rare occurrence that is. But an even greater rarity exists: melanistic whitetails.
Melanistic whitetails are a true gem of whitetail color morphs. With very low odds for this genetic mutation and low reported harvest, viewing a wild melanistic whitetail is a true.
