Piebald Deer

[Muskrat]

Driving south on I5 near the rest stop, there was a beautiful Piebald doe and a non piebald yearling feeding just off the freeway. Both were in excellent shape. Been at least 25 years since I have seen a Piebald.  Muskrat

[elkboy]

There are a number in the San Juan Islands, especially on Orcas Island.  I think those deer out there don't have the "predation penalty" for light patches that mainland deer do!

[singleshot12]

Sign of inbreeding. Piebalds should be culled

[ghosthunter]

Lots on Camano Island.

[JWEBB]

Can you legally shoot a piebald deer in WA? just wondering what the wdfw thinks about that

[Whitpirate]

No illegal that I can find.

[HntnFsh]

Perfectly legal to harvest piebald animals.

[kodiak 907]

 

Sign of inbreeding. Piebalds should be culled

[dreamunelk]

Sign of inbreeding. Piebalds should be culled

False!

It just happens. 

[3nails]

 Not that you didn't see piebald deer but a lot of people see deer this time of year that have hair slip and think that they are piebald. Deer rub the hair right off of their body due to the itching and expose their bare skin making it appear white.

[singleshot12]

Sign of inbreeding. Piebalds should be culled

False!

It just happens.

Are you sure about that?..From what I've read it is a genetic mutation due to inbreeding. Plus most of the piebald sightings have been on small islands and areas where the local gene pool stays more confined for whatever reason.
But if you have proof otherwise it would be nice to see it.

[Tbar]

Not that you didn't see piebald deer but a lot of people see deer this time of year that have hair slip and think that they are piebald. Deer rub the hair right off of their body due to the itching and expose their bare skin making it appear white.

 I have noticed several animals this year that have hair slip.  I thought it was on the decrease but this year seems as bad as any year in recent memory.
As for piebald deer I know if several areas in Whatcom, Island and Skagit that they can be found.  Some are completely white (not albino) and others appaloosa looking. There was a pretty good buck in one area, cool to see. 

[Firedogg]

 If you are in that area hunting and you think of taking this critter better make sure it's a piebald Blacktail and not a piebald Columbia Whitetail. It is possible to get one that far over even though they are mainly seen in the SW coastal areas. . The CW is protected, even if piebald.

[kodiak 907]

Sign of inbreeding. Piebalds should be culled

False!

It just happens.

Are you sure about that?..From what I've read it is a genetic mutation due to inbreeding. Plus most of the piebald sightings have been on small islands and areas where the local gene pool stays more confined for whatever reason.
But if you have proof otherwise it would be nice to see it.

[JimmyHoffa]

Sign of inbreeding. Piebalds should be culled

False!

It just happens.

Are you sure about that?..From what I've read it is a genetic mutation due to inbreeding. Plus most of the piebald sightings have been on small islands and areas where the local gene pool stays more confined for whatever reason.
But if you have proof otherwise it would be nice to see it.

My understanding is that the deer probably has an albino ancestor.  In an area with inbreeding it can come out more.  But just because the deer is piebald doesn't mean it is due to inbreeding.  WDFW did some research about it on the peninsula because of the number of piebalds.  The started tracking DNA and ended up concluding that the deer that started it for the area was an albino buck that lived around 200 years ago.

[whackmaster]

spotted last weekend 

[Okanagan]

Orcas Island  in late August.



Lots of piebald and even some pure white blacktail deer in Whatcom County. The white one I looked at closely with binos at 30 yards was not albino but was pure white all over.

Have also seen them farther south along I-5 in Skagit County and seen some in Clallam County on the Penninsula.

Sure a pretty hide on some of them.  One on the Penninsula had a palm sized black patch on its side amid the appaloosa piebald markings.

 

[boneaddict]

NOT caused from inbreeding, but can be enhanced by inbreeding.   
(More chances of getting like traits).  Thus enhancing the amount of piebald, however can come with other costs.   

[Gringo31]

The piebald buck I have spent the most time watching is definitely a loner.  I haven't seen him in several months....... 

[mountainman]

A few in chelan also. See several every year

[HUNTINCOUPLE]

Saw this piebald doe yesterday near The Dalles dam on the WA side. Real cool to see one in person. Never knew about them till I saw this thread in 2015.

[Bob33]

Seen last year in my backyard.

[HighCountryHunter88]

Good little buck

[flyfishWA]

we've had a few around our house. here is one. blacktail

[Shoofly09]

Lots of them on Orcas, running around Camp Orkilla.   

[JWEBB]

Good little buck

Wow! Really neat pic

[DOUBLELUNG]

A few in chelan also. See several every year

I've seen several in Chelan county over the last 17 years

[fishnfur]

Quick research reveals that piebaldism appears to be completely unrelated to abinism.  Piebalds did not arise from albinos and are not a result of inbreeding, but the gene is apparently long lived through many generations, so the number of animals in an area carrying the recessive gene may increase in number over time, possibly leading to some areas having a higher incidence of piebald animals over other more normal areas. Overall, it appears that about 2% of deer are piebald, though many have other more serious complications related to the affected gene, and so don't survive to maturity.

https://www.qdma.com/look-inside-piebald-deer/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piebaldism

[HoofsandWings]

Saw piebald deer in the Swakane drainage.
Reading these posts, there was no mention of length of hair. The one I saw had hair 6 inches long and the ears had long silky hair.

[buckcanyonlodge]

Whitetail..

[fishnfur]

Saw piebald deer in the Swakane drainage.
Reading these posts, there was no mention of length of hair. The one I saw had hair 6 inches long and the ears had long silky hair.

Weird! 

[HookedOnQuack]

There are several running around downtown Orting in the field next to the high school, used to have a pic of 3 in the field at the same time but cant seem to find it

[fishnfur]

BTW, I said piebaldism wasn't related to inbreeding, but in certain situations where bucks can't or don't disperse and leave their maternal homes (such as an island or other geographically isolated area), a situational inbreeding likely occurs - not brother to sister, but after awhile the chances that a breeding pair is distantly related increases.  Since the recessive gene is passed to all offspring and continues to be passed through many generations, after awhile, a slightly larger percentage (than normal) of the deer population carry the gene, which increases the chance that both mating pairs having the gene (which produces the piebald fawn). 

 

[W_Ellison2011]

Theres a piebald blacktail doe out in the fields by orting highschool every couple days. Also had a couple guys tell me they saw a couple piebalds in the Kapowsin area. Just a random mutation. Sure would be cool to tag one!

[lewy]

I see em from time to time around here as well. A buddy of mine who is also a member on here and I doubled up on bucks one day years ago and one was a piebald.

[deerhuntr4885]

I saw one last year in the LT Murray as well.  Doe

[HoofsandWings]

I see the pictures of piebald deer. The one in entiat that I saw would "qualify". But the hair on the back was 4-6 inches long. The hair on the ears were a couple of inches long. the hair was silky and even its face had long hair. The hair on its side were several inches long. I had a late buck permit, but when I saw this deer, I stopped hunting and stared at it. The pictures I took were of no use. Too far away.
I could see the silky hair on its ears. They were long.

[lokidog]

There are a number in the San Juan Islands, especially on Orcas Island.  I think those deer out there don't have the "predation penalty" for light patches that mainland deer do!

I've seen two here on Decatur.  I'd shoot one given the chance.

[elkrack]

Just passed a piebald in Orting.

[BlackRiverTaxidermy]

Get a few of those in every year for mounts/tanning. Heres a pic of one I did last year from a huntress's mule deer. Dry tanned and rugged it to show the color.

[lokidog]

Nice! I would do a rug type tan as well.

[Stein]

I saw one spring bear hunting in Skagit last year.  Didn’t know the existed until I saw it.  I wouldn’t hesitate to shoot one.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[smithkl42]

There's a piebald doe that sometimes hangs out in the small forest behind my house in Woodinville, part of a herd of 8 or so that have managed to make their home on Hollywood Hill. I can't imagine there's much predation of adult deer in this area (my wife and I never saw a single deer for the first 10 years we lived here, and now we see herds of them pretty regularly), so that would be consistent with the "no predator penalty" for the mutation. It'll be interesting to see if the gene carries through to future generations.

This would be an interesting test-case of my theory that, over time, Blacktail (and probably other flavors) will begin to develop into separate wild and suburban subspecies. In order for suburban deer to survive, they need to not be too concerned about humans, because the closer they get to humans, the better they're protected from predators. No soccer mom is going to stand for coyotes killing fawns in her backyard, however many of her roses get eaten. In contrast, because of hunting pressure, wild deer need to stay as frightened of humans as possible. Over time, this is going to select for radically different behavior and survival strategies. Assuming we humans are still around in 100 years and still have backyards and greenbelts, I would be surprised if it weren't possible to identify the different subspecies morphologically. The piebald trait might end up being one of those morphological characteristics.

[teanawayslayer]

A buddy sent this to me. Pic taken in orting.

[bigmacc]

There are a number in the San Juan Islands, especially on Orcas Island.  I think those deer out there don't have the "predation penalty" for light patches that mainland deer do!

I've seen two here on Decatur.  I'd shoot one given the chance.

Bad joo-joo, bad karma, Ive had my chance at 2 good bucks that were either albino or piebald in the Methow years ago, my dad always said don't even look at em Actually pulling the trigger on one, Heck no , you have been warned

[HighCountryHunter88]

A buddy sent this to me. Pic taken in orting.

That’s her! I thinks she’s two now

[elkrack]

Here’s a Kitsap piebald!