Recently you have started to be interested in hunting with a rifle and want to learn more about “how rare are piebald deer”. This animal is not really common on many shooting and hunting forums. Thus, searching for some helpful information for this curiosity took you quite a lot of time and effort as well. If so, stopping by our content is a wise decision for you.
Follow us to unveil your query.
Contents
What Are Piebald Deer (or Leucistic)?
Before we find out about the main content, you need some general knowledge about this kind of deer first.
Piebald Deer (or leucistic) is one of the two key white deers (including Piebald Deer and Albino Deer). Among them, piebald deer are moderately more popular than the others.
Piebaldism is a form of achromasia of the animal’s body, which leads to a few unexpected colors on some areas of the animal’s skin. This phenomenon is a recessive characteristic or also called genetic mutation.
Nowadays, piebald deer usually appear with two of the main appearances. They would either have some white hair as patches or almost unmixed white apart from some tiny patches of brown fur.
In addition, the biggest difference in distinguishing piebald deer from other deers is their colorful eyes. Piebald deer have black or brown eyes, hooves, and noses, while these parts of most other deer are pink in color.
How Rare Are Piebald Deer?
If there is a small comparison about how often to encounter a piebald deer and other regular deer, we completely confirm that the chance to meet a leucistic during your hunt is much fewer opportunities than another. Researchers assure that this white deer just accounts for under 1% of the whole deer community. So it is truly hard to see a leucistic somewhere on your trip.
So if you happen to encounter a piebald deer strolling aimlessly around some fields, pulling out your camera will be a wise decision! They will certainly be images you can’t capture during every hunting trip with crossbow & scopes.
Furthermore, wildlife researchers claim that this kind of white deer can also mix with typical deers to breed either piebald fawns or normal deer. Nevertheless, they are likely to die shortly after or at giving birth. Hence, the number of piebald species is very low in the population.
Should You Shoot One?
There is some rumour that if you shoot a piebald deer, you will meet bad luck or even death on the coming hunt.
If you’re not superstitious, check your local rules to see whether it is legal to shoot the piebald deer or not before deciding to hunt them. For example, hunting over 50% of a piebald deer in Lowell is illegal; meanwhile, Kentucky generally permits it.
Based on research in this field, we have discovered that shooting a piebald deer doesn’t truly impact its community. As mentioned earlier, this type of animal is a creature of a recessive characteristic; shooting some piebald deer per year will not truly cause a lot of losses for the deer’s population.
In addition, some shooters even suppose that using rifle scope and shooting leucistic is a positive action. They explain that because of the recessive gene factor, a lot of piebald deer experience at least one genetic defect, like distorted internal organs, short legs, turned feet, scoliosis, to name a few. Thus, hunting them will minimize the potential risk of bearing and passing their weak genes to the following generation.
From my personal perspective, I prefer to watch out for a piebald deer rambling on some field and save those rare moments with my camera. Yet, if he is old enough, which might stimulate my hunting interest, then I could hunt them shortly afterwards.
In a nutshell, deciding to hunt a piebald deer or not depends completely on you. Just keep in mind to not offend any hunting regulations or rules when you are carrying it out.
Final Words
Are you still staying with us? If yes, we completely believe you have had an answer for “how rare are piebald deer”. In addition, you must also be clear whether you ought to hunt a piebald deer or not.
Thank you for your company and thanks Cindy Patton & David Turner for the images. If you agree that our blog is useful, don’t forget to follow us and share it with others who have the same curiosity as you.
Read more:
- How Much Meat From A Deer – Tips To Compute The Venison
- When To Plant Turnips For Deer – Time to Unveil The Secret
- How To Find Deer In The Woods: List The Effective Steps For You
- What Do Deer Eat In The Winter? – Our Answer With Interesting Information
- Little Known Ways To How To Tag A Deer
I am Jerry Gonzalez, and my heart beats for the great outdoors, especially in the breathtaking landscapes of Helena, Montana. Engaging with fellow enthusiasts online and at local hunting clubs has been a rewarding experience, and I find great joy in sharing knowledge and experiences with like-minded individuals. My goal is to empower my fellow hunters with well-informed choices, regardless of their experience level.
Thank you for this information. We have one born as a twin here in our Blairsville. GA SUB. DIVISION. He /she does appear to have scoliosis and maybe a little shorter front legs. We love the little guy.