A Rare Encounter with a White Deer in Michigan
On a very early morning in Michigan, an animal lover witnessed a magical moment that would stay with him forever. Ramez Khuran was on his way to work on June 18 when he noticed a striking white creature standing at the edge of a nearby apartment complex. What appeared to be a completely white deer walked by his car around 4:45 am, while he was running ten minutes late for work in Farmington Hills.
The brief window of tardiness subjected Khuran to a rare and almost magical occurrence. “Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a white deer standing at the entrance of an apartment complex,” he recalled. “I passed it and I said to myself, ‘Is that what I thought it was?’”
Khuran told Fox2 Detroit that he had seen deer all the time and they were relatively common in his area, but he had never seen anything like this. He immediately felt the need to capture the moment on camera. “I see a lot of deer in my neighborhood. In my backyard, I get deer all the time, but I’ve never seen a white deer like that, an albino one with red eyes.”
Albino deer suffer from a genetic condition that makes it impossible for them to produce melanin, which gives color to the eyes, skin, and fur. This condition can lead to various challenges, including poor eyesight and physical deformities. Another similar condition called piebald also causes underproduction of melanin in the fur, though many deer with this condition have brown patches as well as white ones.
According to the Deer Association, animals born with these genetic conditions can also experience some deformities, making the sighting of a white adult deer in the wild even rarer. Some deer that lack pigment may have crooked legs, hooves, or spines. Others may have a shortened face or dwarfism. Albino deer often have poor eyesight, which makes it difficult for them to survive in the wild.
Deer born with albinism are estimated to occur at a rate of about 1 in 20,000 to 30,000. They have purely white fur, pink noses, light hooves, and pale blue eyes. For Khuran, who is an amateur wildlife photographer, the encounter was unforgettable. “I was thrilled to see it,” he said. “I take pictures and videos of deer and other wildlife all the time. It has become a bit of a hobby for me. To capture something this rare and beautiful was an absolute privilege.”
In some states, including Minnesota, Tennessee, Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin, these rare deer are protected from hunters. However, Michigan does not have such restrictions. According to Chad Stewart, a representative for Michigan’s Department of Natural Resources, “Michigan does not protect fully white deer. We treat these deer as any other deer and consider them eligible game.”
This lack of protection makes Khuran’s sighting all the more precious. “I was thrilled,” he said. “I was thrilled to see it. It was worth it to leave a little later that day.” His encounter with the albino deer serves as a reminder of the beauty and rarity of nature’s creations, and the importance of appreciating such moments when they come.
