As folks well know from perusing photographs of elusive cryptids such as Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster and chupacabras, photographs of the rarest creatures are hardly ever in focus. Such is the case with these images of a local piebald deer, taken in Bridgehampton last month by a DansPapers.com reader.
These extremely rare, white- and brown-spotted deer are the result of a genetic variation, a defect, that affects less than one percent of white-tailed deer, according to buckmanager.com. Along with their asymmetrical fur coloration, piebalds often have multi-hued eye color as well. Because the piebald is a genetic mutation—in this case marking a weaker version of the species—these deer can exhibit a bowing of the snout, short legs, curvature of the spine and stunted lower jaws.
So, while exciting to see and rather beautiful, the piebald variation is not desirable.
Other mammals, such as horses, can be piebald, and the defect may result in an entirely white coat, but it should not be confused with albinism, a genetic disorder characterized by the absence of pigment in skin, eyes and hair. Albino mammals—including humans—typically have very light colored eyes that can appear red in certain light.
In spite of its deficiencies, the piebald deer pictured here (let’s call it Spot) seems to get along well enough with its genetically normal brethren.
Have you seen Spot, the Bridgehampton piebald deer? Is Spot male or female?
Send us your photos of this wonderful genetic freak and we’ll publish them right here. As an added incentive, we’ll give a Dan’s Papers T-shirt (some sizes limited) to the first person who sends us a recent photo of the beast. (Click here to email us)
For good measure, we’ll give you two Dan’s Papers T-shirts if you’ve got a legitimate Hamptons sasquatch pic… just mind your focus please.