A rare white deer

Sometimes you’re just at the right place at the right time. Driving down a back road at Lake Lanier last week, I rounded the curve and there, standing in the middle of the road, was a white tailed deer and her fawn. Really no big deal EXCEPT that the fawn was white. I mean almost totally white with a few brown spots and one brown ear.

I stopped the car and reached for my phone, which took a few precious seconds of groping before I could find it, then clicked on the “camera” only I kept hitting other stuff, wasting still more time until finally, just as they begin to leave, I got a picture. Then one more and then they bounded into the woods.

I just sat still for a moment, goosebumps dancing down my arm. I had never seen anything like it, not even heard of a white deer except in legend. I was pretty sure it was not an albino, as it had a black nose and one brown ear. But there was no question that it was white (thank goodness I got a picture, otherwise you’d never believe me!)

Armed with my precious photos, I began researching as soon as I could. White deer ARE rare, though certainly not unheard of. The white color is a recessive genetic trait called leucism, which occurs in 1% of all the white tailed deer population. Leucistic deer display some combination of white and brown markings and are often called piebald. Other animals show this characteristic as well, including birds and squirrels.

There is a fairly large population of leucistic deer in the enclosed 10,000 acre Seneca Army Depot where they have been protected since 1951. There, where they are in an enclosed space and interbreeding is common, 1/4 to 1/3 of the 800 deer are piebald.

Like any rare animal, white deer are protected both by law and by legend. Killing a white animal has always been taboo in cultures all over the world. Legend tells us that a hunter who kills a white deer will suffer a long streak of very bad luck. White deer are particularly important in American Indian culture where superstitions and legends abound. If you want to read the Chickasaw Indian legend called the Ghost of the White Deer (and learn a lot more about white deer), go to http://www.protectthewhitedeer.com

Seeing this white fawn was such a gift. I feel reverence and awe for this tiny, rare white fawn and will pray for her safety as I celebrate her life.