— D.P., Franklin, N.H.
Q Last September, my wife and I were watching a bunch of does and fawns feeding in a field along a busy highway. All the does had red coats except for one doe that was mostly gray. Would you want to hazard a guess as to why that one doe would be a different color? Would this be a genetic condition? We hope you can help us on this one.
A Yes, I can help you with your question, and I don’t have to guess. This is a condition I have seen on several occasions.
Almost all white-tailed deer attain red coats of hair in the summertime. They usually have these coats by May.
Most bucks change back into their gray winter coats starting in August. However, does usually change during the last part of September. The difference in the timing is because the does, nursing their fawns, are not in as good physical condition as the bucks. Therefore, it takes them longer to change.
Most fawns are weaned by the end of August, and the does begin to gain weight and shed their summer hair.
The doe that you saw had acquired the start of her winter coat because she had weaned her fawns early — or more likely — had lost them to predation.
Most bucks change back into their gray winter coats starting in August. Does usually change during the last part of September. The difference in the timing is because nursing does are not in as good physical condition as the bucks.
Q A friend of mine once shot an albino buck. What causes albinism and what are the chances of a hunter taking such a deer?
— D.P., Silver Spring, Md.
A Albinism is defined as an inherited condition that results from the total absence of pigment cells, interference with the migration of the pigment cells to their intended locations during embryological development, lack of hormonal stimulus necessary for pigment production or subcellular abnormalities of the pigment cells.
A deer, to be a true albino, must be pure white, have pink eyes and gray hooves. The eyes appear pink because we are able to see the blood going through vessels that are usually masked by pigment.
If the deer has any coloration, if only the size of a quarter, it is considered a mutant or piebald — a much more common occurrence.
Years ago, while lecturing about deer in Illinois, I read in the paper that the governor of that state had just signed a law protecting all albino deer. Nowhere in the article did I see any reference to what they thought was an albino deer. If the governor was referring to a true albino and not a mutant, he should have said so because I fear that he might have had
the same mistaken notion that most folks have about mutants being albinos.
I can find no reliable figures on the number of albinos, or mutants, in the deer population. It has to be very low because every time either are seen, it creates a newsworthy incident that makes for headlines in the sporting magazines.
Albinos and mutants should be removed from the deer’s gene pool because they are defective animals. The mutants that I have seen all had defective hearing, some had kyphosis (upward curving of the spine), bowed legs, crooked noses or other forms of malformation. These are inheritable traits. Before humans interfered, most albinos and mutants would have been eliminated from the gene pool by predators because they stand out with their white coats. These deer are usually shunned by the other deer because they are conspicuous and attract attention. However, mutants are increasing because of our interference and misguided protection.
There is also a genetic variation of “white deer” on the Seneca Army Depot in New York State. These deer are all white, but have brown eyes. These deer are perfectly normal in all other regards. There is great concern about the future of these deer because the army base has been closed and the land is being developed.
Editor’s note: Have a question? Submit it to: Rue’s Views, 138 Mill Brook Road, Blairstown, NJ 07825.
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