The Year of the Albino Twins

My wife Julie and I will always remember  2025 as the year of the Albino twins. Some time around June we discovered two white flashes running  through our yard that we discovered in amazement were twin Albino deer. Credit goes to my son and grandson for the first sighting. We live in a gated community and have many white-tailed deer in the area that are both revered and disdained by residents. Deer cause a considerable amount of damage to landscaping however I fall in the nature lover camp and enjoy seeing them visit my property. I think it's safe to say that all the neighbors are delighted this year to see these rare beauties.

 We began to see in the area on a regular basis a family group of 4 deer . The family consisted of a mother, two twins and a second female of larger size who always appeared with Mom and the fawns. We called her "Nana" imaging that she possibly was the grandmother helping her daughter raise her first fawns, or so we wished.

The twins have a wonderful Mom who is very protective of them, chasing away intruders and wrangling them up when they wander off.

The incidence of Albino deer is estimated to be around 1 in 20,000 births. The incidence of fraternal albino twins is so rare that estimates vary wildly. I've read estimates that range from 1 in 2 million to 1 in 80 million. The incidence of identical albinos is so rare that it is considered improbable. This leads me to believe that these fawns must be fraternal.

Albino deer have several issues that affect their longevity. The biggest issue is their lack of camouflage. They are susceptible to predators and hunters. Though hunting is not allowed in our community we do have coyote who roam the community at night. Albinos in addition have vision problems with eye diseases as a result of lack of pigment in their eyes. They are known to be prone to skin cancer. Albinos are known to be socially rejected by other deer though several years ago we did have an adult albino female in the community who gave birth to two normal fawns (See Post Script).

The range of deer is surprisingly small, particularly in an area with lots of tasty bushes surrounding residents homes. These deer will probably not wander more than a half a mile from where they were born. They will bed-down in ravines, on patios and even under porches

Another shot of Mom and her fawns. As the year went on, the twins began venturing off on their on, either together or alone, but always retuning to their Mom at the end of the day. It will be interesting to follow them and see if they remain together as the new year progresses. Families have been known to stay together for as long as two years.

 

Our "Babes", as we call them, are quite curious and getting to recognize when I come out to fill the bird feeders. The spillage created around the feeders by the squirrels is a tasty snack which they look forward to. Here is a precious photo of them peeping around the corner of my house keeping an eye on me.

In the snow the twins finally have some camouflage. 

It has been a true joy for Julie and I to watch this family and discuss our sightings. We fear for their future but feel blessed to see these beautiful creatures while we can.

I didn't want those Azaleas to bloom next spring anyway.

POST SCRIPT...

Ten years ago for a few years we had an albino female deer roaming through our property. She was a real beauty and one season she had a set of twins which she wanted to show us...or so we fantasized. Her twins were normal fawns, spots and all. You have about a 1-20,000 chance of seeing an albino dear and several people in our area have claimed to see one in their lifetime. A true albino has pink ears, pink eyes and pink hooves, all a result off no pigmentation. They can often be confused with Pie-Bald deer which have mostly white fur with blotches of normal brown. Pie-Bald deer are not as rare. Our twins this season are extremely rare as stated earlier in this blog. The evidence of an albino in a given area is believed to lead to additional albino deer as their traits pass on in the gene pool. It will take a mating male and female both with an albino gene to produce an albino.  Possibly our 2025 twins are descendants of this beautiful female from 2015. This deer hung around for three seasons and then one day was gone. Possibly taken by a predator, an automobile or disease.