Rare Piebald Deer Makes Appearance in South Carolina

Only one whitetail deer in every 1,000 is piebald, so someone in South Carolina got lucky when he or she spotted one of these rare animals in the wild. Though we have no information about who spotted and took the photos of the piebald deer or exactly where, local news sources suggest it was in northern Greenville County.

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The National Deer Association says piebald deer have a rare genetic condition that results in “small to large patches of white hair mixed in randomly with normal brown hair color.” Piebald deer may also have skeletal deformities, but not always.

Unlike albino animals, piebald animals have patches on their bodies that lack pigment cells altogether, according to the National Deer Association. Albino animals have pigment cells; the cells just fail to produce color. Piebald animals have typical eye coloration (versus albino animals that have pink eyes).

See photos of the rare piebald deer spotted in South Carolina here:

Have you ever seen a piebald or albino animal in the wild?

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