This picture was submitted by Marlene Stalker. This albino doe was out for her evening stroll and has been seen the last several years. According to worlddeer.org the chances of a deer being an albino is 1 in about 20,000. The inability for a deer to produce melanin can give a deer this white coat. The more melanin the cells produce the darker the animal will be. An albino deer has little to no melanin which gives it the bright white appearance. An interesting fact is that both parents must carry the recessive gene in order for their offspring to be an albino. If neither parent has the gene or only if one has the gene then the offspring will not be an albino. It is very rare for both parents to carry this recessive gene.
Melanin also helps to develop eyes and sight, mainly the irises and retinas. With out the melanin being produced, albino’s usually have poor eyesight and poor depth perception and tracking.
And according to worlddeer.org albino’s are usually abandoned by their herd because they put the rest of the herd in danger.
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