The Presence of Piebalds

   by Jeanne Siviski

     Doing a double-take is a natural reaction when seeing a piebald deer.  The flash of white from a deer’s tail as it bounds away is one thing, seeing a deer that is white with brown spots is something else altogether.  Another reaction is to question your vision, or wonder if you really did see a goat in the woods.  It can be hard to accept a white-tailed piebald for what it is.  Even the word, “piebald,” is derived, in part, from another animal, the magpie, a two-toned bird of the corvidae, or crow, family.

     The amount of white on a piebald can vary to the point of being almost entirely white.  But this is not the same thing as albinism, which is caused by a lack of pigment and low levels of melanin.  True albino deer are very rare and have pink eyes and white hooves.  Piebaldism, the result of leucism, a genetic condition causing partial loss of an assortment of pigments, affects about one percent of populations.  

     Piebaldism can also bring about a host of other conditions, bowed noses, lowered jaws, or arching spines due to scoliosis, adding to its uncanny looks.  Internal organs can also be affected, though some piebalds are free of disability.  Either way, their survival is often limited because their white coloration makes them painfully easy prey.  Unlike the flash of a white-tailed’s flag that can be disorienting, a piebald’s coloration is no defense, except, perhaps, during that initial moment of disbelief.