Former biology professor: Pale deer spotted in Cape are true albinos

The stark white figure stood with its head down, eating in a grassy field close to the herd. Aside from looking up because of the occasional noise, the albino doe made its way around the field among the other deer, while cars with flashing lights stopped to take a quick photo.

It is not clear how many albino deer inhabit Cape Girardeau County, but some have watched a white fawn grow into a familiar white buck who roams inside city limits. He often is seen early morning and evening around Old Sprigg Street Road, Lexington Avenue, Bertling Street or Cape Rock Drive.

An albino doe was spotted Monday on Lexington Avenue near Old Sprigg Street Road.

Dr. William Eddleman, former professor of biology and current senior associate provost and dean of the graduate school at Southeast Missouri State University, said he believes the white deer seen around Cape Girardeau are true albino deer. Such deer are a rarity because two deer that mate that each have the recessive genetic trait still only have a 25 percent chance of producing an albino deer, he said. The recessive genetic trait blocks pigment production in deer.

It is unclear how rare albinism is. Some organizations claim anywhere from 1 in 10,000 or 1 in 100,000 deer are albino.

The Missouri Department of Conservation does not keep track the number of albino deer in Missouri.

Albino deer lack the brown camouflage its relatives have, making them more susceptible to predators, said Cape Girardeau County conservation agent Kyle Booth. It is not uncommon for albino fawns to not make it past the first year or so of their lives, he said.

Albino deer are white and have a pink nose and pink around their eyes because they have no pigment.

The same phenomenon happens in other species, explained Dr. John Scheibe, professor of biology at Southeast. By chance, two individual deer produced a fawn that is unable to produce melanin for a dark coat, he said.

The trait is not common, but it's not uncommon either, he said, especially in urban setting where the population of deer is likely inbred.

A white deer stands out among the herd of deer feeding Monday in a field off Lexington Avenue near Old Sprigg Street Road in Cape Girardeau. (Laura Simon)

"It's like going to the casino," Scheibe said. "Sometimes you win the slot machine and sometimes you don't."

Jim Butler, a resident of Cape Girardeau for 16 years, saw the albino deer when it was younger. Cars gathered to watch the young buck feed, he said. He never saw the buck in Kiwanis Park, where he often walks his two dogs, until earlier this month.

Butler said he was playing fetch with his dogs around the pond as they always do, when he looked up and saw what he estimated to be a nine-point albino buck staring right back at him. Butler had enough time to take about 15 photos on his phone before the buck walked back in the woods like it was "no big deal," he said. He measured he was 31 steps away from the rare sight.

"He doesn't seem too afraid of people," one reason being because the deer seems to stick within city limits, Butler said. He doesn't believe the deer would've lasted otherwise. Had the buck traveled or lived outside city limits in a rural area, it is likely it would've been killed by now.

"I do think that's what has saved him," he said.

Booth said Missouri has no rules against harvesting albino deer. To do so is legal, he said, as long as the deer is harvested outside city limits on private property where it is legal to hunt. The city of Cape Girardeau does not allow hunting in city limits.

"If the deer happened to go to a neighboring property outside city limits, it would be a legal harvest," Booth said.

As for whether the albino deer, particularly the one known to Cape Girardeau, should be harvested is another question.

Albino deer are rare enough to entice hunters to make the prized kill.

"I was thinking, I would take that deer and have him mounted," Butler said was his thought after seeing the buck at Kiwanis Park. On the other hand, he said, it's not common to see something like an albino deer.

"It's nice for people to see, you know. It's unusual," and if the deer is harvested, the only people who will be able to see it then are those who visit your home, Butler said.

Eddleman said albino deer are just like any other deer when it comes to hunting, and hunters should be able to harvest them. However, if a private landowner does not wish for the deer to be killed on their property, the hunter should respect their wishes, he said.

Butler said now when he visits the park he always looks for the albino buck.

"A lot of people have seen him grow up," he said.

ashedd@semissourian.com

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Pertinent addresses:

Old Sprigg Street Road, Cape Girardeau, MO

Lexington Avenue, Cape Girardeau, MO

Bertling Street, Cape Girardeau, MO

Cape Rock Drive, Cape Girardeau, MO

2100 Rotary Dr., Cape Girardeau, MO