We usually run our own photos for natural wonders, but when Nina Walker sent us this photo of a white mule deer in the Foothills, we figured other people would want to see it, too. The deer is either an albino or a piebald. It appears to have the characteristics of an albino because it looks pure white and appears to have pink eyes. Albinos lack the gene for normal coloration and do not produce the enzyme responsible for skin, hair and tissue coloration. Albinos are rare, and their white fur is an obvious survival disadvantage because they are so visible. Albinism is a recessive gene so this deer’s offspring would have normal coloration unless it bred with another albino, which is extremely unlikely.
Photo courtesy of Nina Walker