Donald Taylor sent me this picture of an albino deer near his home in North Garden.
By some miracle, the pure white animal made it through the hunting season, and also avoided a deadly encounter with a natural enemy, such as a coyote or bobcat.
White deer lack natural camouflage and stand out (except in the snow) and are easily identified by hunters and predators.
Albinism is the lack of any color or pigmentation in an animal’s skin or fur. The survival rate of animals with albinism in the wild can be low, however, in studies where animals had good places to hide, predators captured albino and normally colored animals at about the same rate. As a further disadvantage, albino animals are often excluded from families or other groups or rejected as mates.
Yet, this little fellow (probably a doe) made it. The animal certainly has his/her work cut out for him.