Penny Wilkins stopped on her walk around Swan Lake in Carroll over the weekend to photograph a mama piebald deer with her two babies. Wilkins said, “She is amazing!” and shared photos of the rare deer with KCCI. (Scroll to see her photos.)Jim Coffey, an Iowa Department of Natural Resources forest wildlife biologist, has told KCCI that “all-white deer are certainly rare but not unexpected on the Iowa landscape.”Video above: Warren County man spots all-white deer on his property — twiceWhite deer are the result of recessive genes and inbreeding among deer herds, according to the Associated Press. A deer can be born all white through two primary genetic mutations: albinism and leucism.Albino deer lack genetic color coding and have pink eyes and light-colored hooves.Leucistic deer, also called piebald, have normally pigmented noses, hooves and eyes and can be everything from partly white to full-on white.Coffey reminded everyone that Iowa law protects predominantly white deer, so they can’t be hunted.Check out photos from Wilkins:WATCH: Warren County man spots all-white deer on his property — twiceWATCH: Pair of all-white deer spotted in IowaWATCH: Deer breaks into Carroll Rec Center

CARROLL, Iowa —

Penny Wilkins stopped on her walk around Swan Lake in Carroll over the weekend to photograph a mama piebald deer with her two babies.

Wilkins said, “She is amazing!” and shared photos of the rare deer with KCCI. (Scroll to see her photos.)

Jim Coffey, an Iowa Department of Natural Resources forest wildlife biologist, has told KCCI that “all-white deer are certainly rare but not unexpected on the Iowa landscape.”

Video above: Warren County man spots all-white deer on his property — twice

White deer are the result of recessive genes and inbreeding among deer herds, according to the Associated Press. A deer can be born all white through two primary genetic mutations: albinism and leucism.

Albino deer lack genetic color coding and have pink eyes and light-colored hooves.

Leucistic deer, also called piebald, have normally pigmented noses, hooves and eyes and can be everything from partly white to full-on white.

Coffey reminded everyone that Iowa law protects predominantly white deer, so they can’t be hunted.

Check out photos from Wilkins:

Penny Wilkins was walking around Swan Lake in Carroll when she spotted this piebald deer on March 14, 2026.

Penny Wilkins

Penny Wilkins was walking around Swan Lake in Carroll when she spotted this piebald deer on March 14, 2026.

Penny Wilkins was walking around Swan Lake in Carroll when she spotted this piebald deer on March 14, 2026.

Penny Wilkins

Penny Wilkins was walking around Swan Lake in Carroll when she spotted this piebald deer on March 14, 2026.

WATCH: Warren County man spots all-white deer on his property — twice
WATCH: Pair of all-white deer spotted in Iowa
WATCH: Deer breaks into Carroll Rec Center