Piebald Deer at Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area
Except for a few injured stragglers, Snow Geese have departed Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area in Lancaster and Lebanon Counties to continue their journey north to breeding grounds in Canada. The crowds of observers are gone too. So if you’re looking for a reason to pay a visit to a much quieter refuge, here it is—especially if you’re a devoted deer worshiper.
There is at least one white deer being seen on the refuge. That’s right, a white deer. Its unusual color is really becoming conspicuous as the landscape begins turning from shades of gray to various hues of bright green.
No, it’s not a reindeer. This piebald White-tailed Deity was seen this afternoon on the west side of Kleinfeltersville Road north of the Middle Creek W.M.A. visitor’s center opposite the Willow Point Trail parking lot. Those of you who are regular deer-watchers at Middle Creek are familiar with the location, and maybe this particular white-tail too.Because it has brown eyes and a brown snout, we known this is not an albino deer. A piebald deer possesses white pelage as the result of genetic inheritance of an uncommon recessive allele possessed by both parents. Other anatomical mutations can accompany the receipt of the piebald variation, some of them crippling. The pale young deer entering the picture from the right bears some resemblance to the piebald on the left. We may be seeing ten-month-old twins foraging with their brown-coated mother.
If you go, you’ll need binoculars to pick out these uncommon deer. And remember to be very careful when parking and observing along Kleinfeltersville Road. The speeding cars and trucks there can be wickedly dangerous, so give them lots of room.
