White-tailed Deer - Leucism
by Tammy McGarry
August 15, 2014
A little farming village in Poltimore, Qc (1 hr north of Canada’s capital city Ottawa) has a rare new resident. A “white”, white tail fawn. The fact that this little fawn has a little colour with some brown patches and dark eyes
means that it is definitely not an albino, as they have no pigment at all and pink eyes. This deer is what is called leucistic. What is interesting is that this fawn is actually a twin and its sibling is a normal colour.
Leucism (or Leukism); For those that do not know what Leucism is, it is a very unusual condition where the pigmentation cells in an animal or bird fail to develop properly. This can result in unusual white patches appearing
on the animal, or, more rarely, completely white creatures.
As an amateur photographer, I enjoy being able to walk through the beautiful landscape of our area being able to capture some pictures of this rare deer was quite a “lifer” for me. I have seen this condition is some black birds and a crow. Seeing a deer with this condition certainly makes it a target. Fawns are normally brown and spotted to camouflage into its surroundings. As they mature, the spots will disappear.
This deer will certainly face many challenges with predators both 4 legged and 2 legged. I hope I am able to see it again and know that he or she is still surviving.
About me (Tammy McGarry ): Lives in Poltimore, Que, on a beef farm and raises appaloosa horses.
Web site: www.priestcreekfarms.com
E-mail address: tmcgarry@magma.ca
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