• Friday-What'sUP May 23 - 06:18 pm

The two top photos hail from Cedarville, MI over on the eastern end of the U.P., on the shores of Lake Huron. Bobb Farrell hit his shutter button at just the right time to capture the doe's breath as she lifted her head to see what Bobb was up to. Sensing he was just shooting with a camera, she slowly trots off with her baby tagging along beside her.

As long as were doing deer today, I thought you'd enjoy seeing an oddity, spotted by Mona Grigg in Brimley, just southwest of Sault Ste. Marie. Mona said this albino deer was just grazing on the roadside. She figures its protected and fed by the people around there because it had no fear of the cars going by or people taking its picture. Her coat looks pretty rough, but perhaps she's in the process of losing her winter coat, getting ready for a new Spring look.

I love the baby fawn pics today! Last May a doe had twins in our meadow. It was fun and interesting to watch them in their natural ways. As soon as the fawns were able to jump the fences, off they went.

The wildlife shots are AWESOME...Thanks Bob, Mona and Mary. It is also great seeing people contributing from the opposite end of the U.P. What a grand place to live. THE GOOD OLE U.P.
I am a little partial to the eastern end since I spent most of my life there...however I love the Copper Country as well. Seen a new bumper sticker and it made me chuckle "My heart is in the U.P. but my a_ _ is stuck right here." The car had Illinois license plates on it. I feel fortunate that I have been able to reside in the GOOD OLE U.P. but "JUST"...as I am stuck in the swamps of Menominee.

The albino deer looks like a doe in sheep's clothing.

Hi folks! Long time lurker, occasionall poster here. I thought I'd pop in and mention that the white deer pictured is probably not an albino. If you notice, the eyes don't appear to be pink. Also, there are dark spots here and there on its face, ears and neck. Now I can't be absolutely sure without higher resolution images, but this appears to be a rare color variation that occurs in many species called leucism. The deer would be referred to as "leucistic". In squirrels, it's common to see a dark coloration known as melanism. This is the same sort of mechanism at work, but in reverse. Some scientists prefer to think of leucistics as albino, but the word albino is almost always used to refer to an animal or human who has no skin or hair coloration at all, while leucistics can have very little pigment (frequently blue eyes and normal nose color) and can sometimes have blotchy coloration here and there on their bodies.

The fact that this deer made it to adulthood is nothing short of a miracle, since such animals are usually killed very young by predators. I don't know if Michigan has a law protecting them, but Illinois does. Killing one would be a terrible travesty, considering the hardships they must overcome just to survive.

If you did a websearch on "leucistic" you will see white hawks, deer, moose, giraffes, alligators, buffalo and much more. They are one of my favorite classes of animals; can't you tell?

Hope you all have a fine holiday weekend!

Mary Lynn

There's a white buffalo near Baraga, if the billboard near the Bishop Baraga memorial is accurate.

One time I bought a white elephant at a garage sale...

The baby deer are a prize, not seen so often. A friend of mines cousin has a deer farm downstate and Taylor was able to bottle feed a baby a couple years ago.

Too bad about your luck with the white elephant...

Are the albino deer still on Presque Isle in Marquette?

Hi
Earlier this week I had a deer in my backyard, downstate. I looked out my bedroom window and there it was by the clothesline. I stayed still but it spooked itself and ran back into the field behind my yard.

Mary Lynn,

Thanks for the info about the difference between leucistic and albino! I shall now search the Internet for a picture of a white moose.

mary they are protected and most know that without the pink eyes they are not true albinos however their close enough for us...................i remain

Here's a Moose for ya'.

A Moose of a Different Color

http://science.blogdig.net/archives/articles/February2008/29/A_Moose_of_a_Different_Color.html

Not to promote someone else's site, but to shorten your search time.

I Love this place.

Poor Missouri-ite wishin' he was a 'yooper."

jonesey

As Mary Lynn said: The fact that this deer made it to adulthood is nothing short of a miracle, since such animals are usually killed very young by predators.

Then seeing the photos of the white deer and the moose made me think of an old "Far Side" cartoon. The one of a couple of deer standing in the woods and one has a birthmark shaped like a target on his chest. And the other deer says "Bummer of a birthmark Hal"... In the animal world I would imagine that being born with leucism much like having a target on your chest...

Cedarville how beautiful. We spend a week there every summer.The LesCheneaux Islands are beauiful!!Loons Point campground has the nicest people camping there. It's former owners the Pitkos made a great place for families to have a special vacation. The views of Lake Huron in Cedarville are like no other. When it's spring time in Ohio it means a trip to Michigan is not far away. CAN'T wait.

Hi All; My "albino" did indeed have pink eyes, and what look like dark spots are actually very pink skin showing through. I've never heard of leucism, so I found that very interesting.

I love "deer in sheep's clothing"!