Posted this with a bunch of Cookie's other images a few weeks back (Link to other pics), but thought it might get a few more looks if it went solo. Had a black doe in the area about 5 years back figuring it was a once in a lifetime deal. A black mule deer fawn made an appearance this season, so now it's twice in one's lifetime.


It was a product of a twin birthing and note the tail on its sibling. Also a bit unusual for a mule deer. Typical tail on the buck in the first image.

Cool! Have never seen that.

On a ranch near ours there used to be “pinto” genetics in a resident herd for years.

Whoa, never heard of nor seen such a thing.

Cool!!

NICE!!

Thats freaking cool! Thanks for sharing the pics!

Thats awesome. Wonder what causes that coloration difference?

Interesting to see that over there you have black deer. In my area black roe deer is quite common. The following page I am not affiliated with will show you some examples:

http://www.iberhunts.com/en/Programas/1-alemania-caza-de-corzos-negros/

The color variant was created by mutation in the form of excessive black pigment deposits. We are talking about melanism, which we also find more frequently in fallow deer and rabbits. The most famous blacks are the black panthers. In evolutionary theory we also talk about variability. The opposite of this is albinism, in which pigment deposits are completely absent.

That is amazing. Once in a, or twice 😁, in a life time for sure. I have seen piebald deer that other people have shot and thought that was rare. This would be better.

There was a melanistic doe in the vicinity of one of the farms I hunt. We only ever saw her once. Don’t know what ever became of her.

Veddy Inter,resting!!

Thanks

Jerry

Awesome. Saw a white mule deer fawn couple years ago in AZ

Great pictures! I have a good friend that has a couple of Melanistic whitetails on his ranch every year. It must be genetic because they have a few around every year going back 30 plus year.

Cool!!

Cool!!

1minute
There's been a recurring incidence of melanism down near Page Springs on the refuge for quite a few years. Nice pics.

Very cool? Thanks for sharing with us!

Is that deer on welfare????

We have a heard of black white tails on one place and there are several with in-between shades. I don't think they are melanistic just a recessive gene or something. Saw a pretty good eight point that would have made an interesting mount, but let it walk to spread it's genes, which it apparently it did as I saw another young black eight point about 2 years later.

In West Texas some locations have a higher incidence of White Tail/Mule deer crosses. These deer will have a dark tail like the other fawn. It would be really rare to have both the dark or melanistic genetics and white tail genes too, but it is not impossible.

Beautiful deer and as usual your wife is an amazing photographer.

1minute: Great pictures and indeed very rare.
I have seen albino Deer many times but never a "black" one.
Thanks for sharing.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Wow very cool deer. Thanks for sharin