Unlimited access >

Help me ID this farm visitor Updated 6/8/22

If the antlers were more twisty I’d vote a white black buck as they are very deer like in their body.

I’ve seen some spike bucks with pretty big racks, but they all had that traditional curve.

I wonder if this guy didn’t shed his antlers from last year. There’s a pretty typical looking spike from the middle up & from the head to the middle. That would explain the oddly long skinny look.

I googled “Maryland White Deer with twisty horns” and there’s several articles of similarly looking
albino deer and one wildlife expert said they usually have “deformed hooves and shortened jaws”.
Maybe his gait is affected by deformed feet…? And the shape of skull could be the shortened jaw mentioned…? Supposedly albinos have other deformities also. So maybe the horns?
Very interesting and what a neat surprise on your new farm!!

1 Like

If memory serves, @Texarkana actually lives somewhere on the upper part of Maryland’s Eastern Shore. (Promise I’m not stalking, I live on the mid-Shore, so even though we’ve never met, @Texarkana feels kind of like a neighbor!)

1 Like

Yes, @bdj is right- not stalkerish, we are probably the only two eastern shore folks on this board! I’m a little closer to you now!

Thanks for all the thoughts on this everyone. Although I’m not any closer to knowing what it is. :rofl: I’m leaning towards white tailed deer with multiple genetic anomalies, but think it’s equally as plausible it could be an escaped something. I have seen white colored white tailed deer in this area but they have always looked more normal.

2 Likes

It could quite possibly be a white Sika deer. There are Sika deer on the eastern shore (mainland), and a quick google search shows there are some that end up white. https://dnr.maryland.gov/wildlife/Pages/plants_wildlife/SikaDeer.aspx
Today, the population primarily inhabits Dorchester, Wicomico, Somerset, and Worcester counties as well as Assateague Island.

1 Like

Wonder if it’s a leucistic Sika deer? There is an introduced population in Maryland, and it’s noted that they employ “bounce locomotion.”

https://dnr.maryland.gov/wildlife/Pages/plants_wildlife/SikaDeer.aspx

1 Like

@Mango20 and @Leather I wondered that too, but I’m considerably north of their documented range on the eastern shore. So if he is a sika, I think he must have escaped from captivity or have been otherwise introduced to the area.

ETA: Or… Facebook says maybe not?

1 Like

I think it’s a regular white tailed deer with a color mutation who didn’t shed its antlers properly, or maybe was a little too aggressive with rubbing them. If you look closely it has nubs sticking off of the antlers from where it broke off pieces.

I’m in NOVA and we have a surprisingly large population of white deer here.

I think I have a pony that may be part Sika deer.

11 Likes

My brother’s answer was that it is likely a fallow deer with “crappy antlers.”

He says it’s a common color phase and the body shape and face look like fallow deer. They are an introduced species like Sika; people had them on their properties and they bred/escaped. He said a google search suggests that there are limited populations of fallow deer in the Maryland area.

3 Likes

@wildlifer may know.

I don’t think it’s a fallow deer, but I can’t be positive. My reasoning is that it seems like while there was a small breeding population in my area, internet research indicates they aren’t very common. Then again, the small size and friendliness make it seem plausible.

Learning that sika deer have bounding locomotion plus there are enough locally for people to hunt them here, that is seeming more and more likely.

Meanwhile, I see this guy just about every day. I finish feeding the horses and before I even get back to the house, he’s out there searching for spilled feed. His level of comfort around people makes it seem very plausible he escaped from captivity.

I just need to remember to send someone at DNR a picture!

1 Like

Except an albino Sika deer would still be very rare.

Don’t all deer have bounding locomotion?

I definitely agree that you should send a photo to your local dept of environmental services, or whatever it is called there. I suspect they will have a much better idea of what is typical in your area and might be well aware of any pockets of introduced species.

I’m not a cervid expert, but it does look a bit different from a white tail. Definitely let your DNR know, as there are some nasty disease issues in domestic cervid populations that can spread to wild herds, so that is a really important thing to keep tabs on. Their deer biologists should be able to also give you an ID answer. :slight_smile:

2 Likes

Well, I think you have a new pet. :slightly_smiling_face: Poor guy must be hungry to be so bold. What are you naming him?

2 Likes

How tall is it? Sika deer are so little, I would think it would be really easy to rule that out. I once had to fight one for a bag of hot dog buns and I could have easily straddled it and put it in a choke hold. (I did not, but I sincerely considered it when I was losing the battle. Sorry mama deer, I do not think plastic is good for your guts.)

If it’s a WTD, there are some major genetic defects there. Plenty of introduced species on the Eastern Shore! A friend’s grandfather is supposedly responsible for the black squirrels in the Snow Hill area…

1 Like

White mystery guy needs his own grain feed pan. And maybe a winter blankie.
He must be homeless. :wink:

3 Likes

… and a name.

2 Likes

He is about the size of a large goat. I thought he was a goat the first time I saw him. Smaller than a white tailed, but he could be young or malformed. He’s also oddly stocky for a deer in general.

That’s funny about the black squirrels in Snow Hill. We had black and white squirrels on the farm we rented in Queenstown. I have not seen any here yet, just our deer friend.