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The Spirit Bears of British Columbia, Canada, represent a white animal that has great cultural meaning and is thought to be sacred. The third condition, isabellinism, happens when a genetic mutation leaches the color out of pigmented animal parts, such as feathers-although the animals can still produce some pigment. Leucistic deer may lack pigmentation in their fur but have brown eyes and a black nose. True albino deer are all white, have pink eyes and are extremely rare. In a habitat with its large predators still intact, a leucistic deer’s chances of survival are slim. Although they generally survive longer than albino deer, like them they are not very well camouflaged. Their noses are black, and their eyesight is not usually affected. Leucistic deer can be varying levels of white some contain white splotches, some are half brown and half white, and some appear nearly all white. One percent of all white-tailed deer are leucistic, which, like albinism, is a recessive genetic trait. For instance, they could display some eye color.

Leucistic animals are mostly white, but they are able to produce some pigment. Albino alligators, for example, survive on average less than 24 hours after hatching. They usually have poor eyesight and are conspicuous, making them easy prey. It’s difficult to accurately determine how frequently this condition occurs in the wild because albinos tend not to survive for long. Albinism is a recessive trait, which means that both parents must pass the mutation on to their offspring. Their feathers, fur or scales are white and they have pink eyes, since the blood vessels normally masked by eye color show through. True albinos are unable to produce any kind of pigment. In fact, in many cultures’ mythologies, they are even elevated to a sacred status.Īnimals can take three paths to whiteness: albinism, leucism and isabellinism. Much like my fascination with that image of the white deer, humans have held a special place in their hearts for white animals since ancient times. So, when I recently saw a few photos of rare white ravens on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada, it reminded me of my grandfather’s photo and set me off on a search about what it means for animals to be white in the wild.Īlbino alligators have a disadvantage in the wild most survive less than 24 hours. That photo of Wisconsin’s famed albino deer herd was presented to him by a man who was the head of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources at the time. My grandfather was an avid outdoorsman: he was a hunter an excellent perch and trout fisherman a dog breeder of German shorthaired pointers, Weimaraners and vizslas and a freelance writer for American Field Magazine and Field & Stream, among many other outdoor and sporting publications.

A few of the deer in that image looked different from the others they appeared to be all white. Sepia-toned, it depicted a herd of deer, taken in Wisconsin’s Northwoods, near Boulder Junction. ©Mike Yip, Vancouver Island BirdsĪ framed photo that hung on a wall of my grandfather’s large dining room is one of my earliest memories. They first appeared in the “White Raven Capital of the World” about 10 years ago.

The white ravens of Qualicum Beach, Vancouver Island, Canada, are leucistic.