FROM THE YOU TUBE COMMENTARY: What is this animal? It had a sibling that was even whiter. Could it be a new species of deer. It appeared to be a unique wild white/piebald deer with white band and wooly fur
This wild white/piebald deer with a white band and long, shaggy, curly fur is probably the only one in existence. This deer not only had band of white fur around its central area, but its fur was shaggy and wooly. It also appeared to have an unusually long, oddly-shaped tail. First shot is of two normal deer.
It may have had a sibling with even more white, shown running for cover in second part of video. The mother was normal colored and had a normal texture of fur.
A view of a white buck in the same area (possibly its father) can be seen at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tArW4...
At least 6 white deer were seen at different times in the same area. One was pure white, about a foot taller than the other deer, and had a huge rack. The white deer shown had a large band or belt of white fur around its middle like a Poland China hog and long curly fur. Its twin was chiefly white. A white fawn was seen once. Around 30 years ago, many area people saw a white deer with a black spot. A sixth white deer was seen and photographed along our river valley (Alum Creek, in Ohio).
The piebald deer also had a sort of Roman nose -- one with an enlargement in the front of the face - that some of the deer in the area had. The wooly deer seemed to also have an unusually long tail. I doubt that inbreeding caused this whiteness, because these were wild deer. There were many deer in the area at that time.
It is just a lighter colored white-tailed deer. I've seen them vary in color from a light mousy gray (which is what this animal is) to a darker gray that tends toward black in the winter time. In the summer, these deer are golden tawny like a golden retriever. It's their winter coats come in somewhat different stages.
ReplyDeleteAll white-tailed deer have Roman noses. It's one of their characteristics.
I've seen albino and piebald white-tails. I've seen white-tails that were spotted like paint horses. I've even seen a melanistic one (and mistook it for a dog). I also saw one from the side of the road that had the "belted" appearance.
This species varies a lot in appearance. It has a very wide range. The animals range from Canada to South America, and come in so many different forms, colors, and sizes.
The biggest white-tails approach the size of the red deer. The smallest are the size of the average domestic dog. They are normally about the size of a fallow deer.
It's an interesting color variation in the white tail, but it is hardly a new species.
White-tails can hybridize and produce fertile offspring with mule deer. I believe some mule deer were released in Tennessee, and there are a few hybrids running about.