A video uploaded to Youtube shows a piebald deer sighted by a woman in "Western Montana" (we wish we could be more detailed than that, but the uploader has declined to provide the exactly location) and boy, it's a pretty little guy.
The deer is a juvenile, and seems to have wandered onto the videographer's ranch. She makes clucking noises at it, which it responds to by pausing and doing a half-turn before following it's mama to the treeline. Mama, it should be pointed out, does not display the same piebald coloring.
Piebald deer used to be all over the continent, but they have become rarer and rarer with hunting. The product of a rare genetic disorder, piebald deer are distinguished from the rarer albino deer, which are all white and have red or pink eyes, by having patches of brown as well. Less than 2% of whitetail deer are born piebald, though some think there used to be a higher percentage of them in parts of the US. They have frequently been the target of hunters in the 19th century, which may have culled their numbers.
The presence of white animals was and is often viewed as supernatural or sacred by many Native-American tribes - just this month, there was outrage over the killing of a spirit moose. We have to admit, if we saw a piebald deer in our sights, we'd have to think twice over whether we'd harvest it - sometimes you want to keep beauty around.
See the video below!
Leave a Comment Here