White Deer Herd

[Big John]

Senneca County, NY has a herd of white deer (200) living on the former army base there, locals are trying to perserve the herd. Allthough i'm a deer hunting fanatic, saving the herd, in my opinion is a top priorty.

 

[wolfers]

Yea, I saw them when I was up there in November. They were really neat. You can't hunt inside the fence can you? Are they a special breed or something? I noticed they do not have pink eyes so they aren't albinos.

 

[roundball]

According to literature on the subject there's only two kinds of white deer...albino or "piebald" (brown & white patches).
If they're pure white they have the genetics of albino and the problems inherent with albinoism.
In either case, they are genetically inferior, a mutant...not a rare or separate species.

Don't understand why anybody would want to save, protect, and worse...concentrate them so they can further inbreed and produce even more, really screwed up offspring...then have some escape into the wild.

I kill every one I ever see while hunting...get them out of the gene pool.

 

[freetrapper20]

http://senecawhitedeer.org/

 

[hawkeyejr]

the white deer at the seneca army depot are not albino's or piebald whitetail i forget what the cause of them being white is they are whitetails.the base is open to hunting by i beleive a lottery system only like 10 guys a day mostly military or armed forces though

 

[PreglerD]

I agree with roundball. Hunting is the best way to preserve the herd, not a total kill of the herd but hunting for the weak and ill ones to make the rest stronger if they really no albinos. In GE, whenever a albino or white coloured deer is seen, the public shout "let it live!". I don't think so.

 

[freetrapper20]

I couldn't find it, but there was a website somewheres about that and it had all the pics of all the "white-whitetail" mounts that were harvested.

 

[rabjr]

Brown, White, Black, Green or Purple a deers a deer and the best way to control the population is through controlled hunting.

 

[roundball]

the white deer at the seneca army depot are not albino's or piebald whitetail i forget what the cause of them being white is they are whitetails.the base is open to hunting by i beleive a lottery system only like 10 guys a day mostly military or armed forces though

I'm not being stubborn, I just have difficulty candy-coating my thoughts so please take this in stride...but it sounds like you're suggesting a whole new species of Whitetail has become established on the planet...if that were the case, surely there would be information available about them.

The only reference literature I've been able to find over the years regarding any kind of "white deer" (through Google) reference "albinos" or "pie-balds".

Can you help any with this, any supporting info...even the site for this base doesn't go into any detail one way or another...seems like they'd be trumpeting the information.

 

[rabjr]

Not directed to you Roundball, just stating an opinion.

The way I see it, these are just white deer. Lacking the gene that gives their coat color. This can happen anywhere in the wild. They are not Albino deer because their eyes tell us they are not. Piebalds are deer with brown and white patches, mottled coats. These deer are not Piebalds.

 

[roundball]

I agree they're not pie-balds...this is what they might be...this herd in Illinois has it's roots back in North Africa

http://www.anl.gov/Science_and_Technology/Virtual_Tour/deer.htm

 

[rabjr]

Only thing is the bucks don't show a fallow deer type antler make up to me. A cross could be possible but the bucks I saw showed antlers more inline with what would be expected of a White tail.

 

[hawkeyejr]

the local news channel here in buffalo ny just had a story on the white deer and again they are not albinos or piebald they are in deed whitetail deer just with no brown pigmentation at all there web site is[url] wivb.com[/url] i also seen on another web site of an all black whitetail shot in texas last year i do not know if the mods would let list the web site at all though seeing it is another hunting web site

 

[roundball]

Now that would be cool...a solid black whitetail deer... :thumbsup:

 

[Maynerd62411]

In Illinois, it's illegal to kill a totally white deer. Piebalds are permitted, however. Not sure why.

 

[hawkeyejr]

it was shot in texas i seen it on buckmasters web page in there forums a while ago it was a doe it looked weird as h#@$ :shocked2:

 

[Stumpkiller]

For a couple years we kept our sailboat at Sampson State Park, which is the former Navy base and just across the road from the Seneca Army Depot. Although the Army base is dormant, it is staffed. Some nuts wanted to spraypaint peace signs or some such a while back and the bushes sprouted dogs and guards. We used to hear the distinctive sounds of M2 .50 cal full auto from the disused range near the disused airstrip. That was a dozen years ago, and I guess it is well and truly vacant now. Pity, the officers homes are just empty and wasting away. Great place for a penal colony.

Anyway, the white deer are not entirely confined within the fence, and I have a feeling they know a few spots to pass over at will (reassuring that our nukes were stored where deer could broach the perimeter). We used to drive along the perimeter looking for them at dusk, and would see them on both sides of the road on rare occasions. Never saw one with a large rack or promise of one. Very pretty deer in any case. You expect to see the single long horn of a unicorn.

 

[rabjr]

Thats just nuts...the green and purple ones should be the protected ones not white ones. :winking:

 

[hawkeyejr]

i've seen them a couple of times while coming back from cayuga lake they are a very pretty and odd looking deer a freind of mine that works where i used too hunts there once and a while by the coast guard base9the big radio tomer) her hubby is in the coast guard that is why they get to hunt there and she was telling me that someone shot a nice 8pt there last archery season(2005) :thumbsup: :hatsoff:

 

[Mad Professor]

We have some white or nearly all white whitetails here in western massachusetts. They are a rarity and not albinos. Curiously they are usually found in towns with higher elevations (e.g. much more snow) so I wonder if they have evolved an advantage in winter conditions when predators can key in on brown deer in a white background? Of course this is a negative whenever there is no snow cover.

As an after thought these deer ( in NY) must also be exposed to heavy lake effect snowfalls from the Finger lakes and lake Ontario. "Freaks" or a possible advantagous genetic trait in certain areas?