Friday, December 3, 2010

White Deer

Ever since I learned (many months now!) that this white deer had been seen in the area around the UMaine campus in Orono I have been hoping to happen upon it with a camera handy. Today I got my chance...

The interesting thing is that I normally wouldn't have been near this field at this time of day. I'd normally be stuck inside my office banging away on a PC or two. Today I had to leave early for an appointment... ...and got a little lucky along the way.









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5 comments:

Unknown said...

Thanks for sharing! That's amazing! :)

jenny_whyme said...

You need a comment here on the blog... not just on Facebook.

Congratulations.

Susan Guare said...

I saw it on Saturday. It looks like a cross between a deer and a snowshoe rabbit. I'd love a scientist's explanation, as I believe albinism results in total loss of pigment, so what's with the black ear tips?

Murph said...

I believe it's a Piebald Deer.

From http://www.buckmanager.com/2007/07/17/piebald-deer-what-are-they/

"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."

Unknown said...

I saw only one picture of this creature that was sent to me by a friend. It was difficult to tell the size of it due to the way the picture 'looked'. I was told it is a rabbit, but I 'saw' a deer! I had two people say that they saw a llama even...VERY VERY interesting.. who ever you are, thatks for sharing this!! ☻