{"id":600483,"date":"2026-04-22T23:05:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T23:05:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/600483\/"},"modified":"2026-04-22T23:05:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T23:05:08","slug":"white-deer-with-rare-genetic-trait-spotted-on-eastern-long-island","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/600483\/","title":{"rendered":"White deer with rare genetic trait spotted on eastern Long Island"},"content":{"rendered":"

A white-tailed deer with rare nearly all-white coloring has been frequenting a grassy yard\u00a0on eastern Long Island.<\/p>\n

A resident, who asked to be kept anonymous to protect the animal and whose exact location Newsday is keeping private, said the deer started showing up in his backyard, which borders a wooded area, in December, and he began snapping photos.<\/p>\n

The deer\u00a0has\u00a0a genetic trait called leucism, which causes a loss of pigment. Deer with leucism can be nearly all white, like this one, or spotted like a pinto pony \u2014 a variation commonly called piebald. The condition can affect nearly any animal, including mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles and fish.<\/p>\n

Leucism is the result of a recessive gene, so both parents must carry that gene in order to produce a leucistic fawn. Only about 1% of deer have this trait, according to The Nature Conservancy<\/a>. It\u2019s different from albinism, also a genetic mutation, which results in a complete lack of melanin. A leucistic deer will still have dark eyes, nose, and hooves.<\/p>\n

Leslie Lupo, a wildlife biologist at the state Department of Environmental Conservation\u2019s Stony Brook office, said she\u2019d never seen a deer with leucism on Long Island.<\/p>\n

In regions where deer must evade wild predators, a white deer would be at a disadvantage, Lupo noted. In a typical deer,\u00a0“coloration changes throughout the year with the seasons,\u201d she said, turning deeper red-brown in summer, and more pale and gray in the winter, for camouflage.<\/p>\n

\"About<\/p>\n

About 1% of deer have this genetic trait. Credit: LK<\/p>\n

A white deer would stand out\u00a0and be at greater risk of becoming a meal for a wolf pack or other local predators.<\/p>\n

This rare Long Island animal seems content to browse on tender spring greens, the resident said, sometimes alone and sometimes accompanied by a more conventionally attired companion.<\/p>\n

“I was and still am very fortunate to see this deer,” the resident said.\u00a0“I realized how lucky I\u00a0am when something that rare chooses your yard to feel safe in.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A white-tailed deer\u00a0with leucism, which causes a loss of pigment, on Eastern Long Island. Credit: LK<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A white-tailed deer with rare nearly all-white coloring has been frequenting a grassy yard\u00a0on eastern Long Island. A…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":600484,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[34965,79,201],"class_list":{"0":"post-600483","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-environment-and-nature","9":"tag-science","10":"tag-wildlife"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/600483","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=600483"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/600483\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/600484"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=600483"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=600483"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=600483"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}