Pro Staff: The Elusive “Piebald” Deer
Whenever you get out into the wild and wonderful outdoors, you never know what you might encounter.
Well, that was the case for a friend of mine, Wayne Rinehart, on a very cold day in late December. Wayne was hunting in Point of Rocks, Maryland, one evening during Maryland’s late muzzloader season. That evening he harvested a whitetaile doe with a field dress weight of 90 pounds.
Wayne’s deer wasn’t just your average white-tail deer; it is what is considered a “piebald.” A piebald deer is blotched with white and brown fur all over its body. I did a little bit or research on this and found out piebalds have also been known to have very short legs, an arched spine, and a short lower jaw. This deer showed all three of these characteristics. Statistics show that less then 1 percent of the whitetail deer population is affected by this disorder. Piebald is a genetic disorder and is not caused by disease or parasite, making the meat 100 percent safe to eat.
It’s not everyday you get see something this usual when your out sitting in your tree stand or blind. Congratulations Wayne on a unique deer!
Now I’m curious: What’s the strangest animal you all have ever seen in the wild? —Brooke
That is a really amazing deer. The hunter probably had to look twice to make sure it wasn’t a goat! I have not really seen anything strange enough to comment on compared to that!
February 1st, 2010 at 11:43 amBrooke and I saw a piebald buck on our family farm about five years ago. However there is one animal I would like to see in the wild. I have yet see a coyote.
February 1st, 2010 at 8:15 pmCool story Brooke! I’ve never seen a piebald with my own eyes, so the fact you got to see one up close and personal is a real treat. . . Thanks for sharing!
Strangest animal i’ve ever seen in the wild? Well, that has to be a rock chuck. They’re a weird little animal, like a groundhog, that live in the west. One night, after backpacking for miles, i set up camp (apparently close to a rock chuck’s home), and one of these crazy little things wouldn’t leave me alone. He had no fear and would stand at the door of my tent just staring at me, almost behaved like a dog. Funny stuff.
February 2nd, 2010 at 8:25 amNeat story!!!! That just looks freaky.
February 2nd, 2010 at 6:10 pmI once saw a squirrel that would jump and shake in mid air every few steps. It then proceeded to crawl up a tree and fall over backwards a few feet up. It tried again, but this time sideways, and fell over a shorter way up than the last time. It was definitely a funny experience.
I’ve also seen a live rabbit with a whole in it’s back. You’re going to think I’m making this up, but you could literally see inside of it. It was acting wierd, and let me walk right up to him, and once I got close to him I saw the hole. It was right between the front shoulder blades on his back. It was still alive, and just sort of nonchalantly walked away when I got a little too close to him. Funny thing is, I saw him a week from then, still alive.
February 2nd, 2010 at 6:11 pmhole* not whole
February 2nd, 2010 at 6:11 pmTK’s story reminds me of a squirrel I saw acting weirdly in my neighborhood (not really in the wild…). My dad was out on our deck and said “there’s a dead squirrel down there, why don’t you go pick it up.” So I went out about an hour later with a bag and there was no squirrel. Then I heard this high pitched squeaking noise and there was the squirrel under my deck! He was hanging onto a piece of steel gutter like his life depended on it. So I picked up the gutter and walked him down to the end of my yard and put him on the ground. But every time I moved to walk away he would lunge after the gutter and attack it. I finally got a little ways up the hill and he started following me! I managed to sneak away and left him rooting around in one of our plants. I came back and finally coaxed him to go into my neighbor’s yard that has a fence, big trees and a squirrel feeder. Later I saw him (I thought dead) in that yard, but an hour later was nowhere to be found. I told a friend about it and he said “I’ve never seen a squirrel with narcolepsy!”
February 4th, 2010 at 8:42 amI’ve seen rabbits with similar symptoms as the squirrel Thatkid describes. I think seizures are fairly common in rodents but I’m not sure.
February 4th, 2010 at 8:43 amWell I have seen some wierd stuff but the best has to be watching a squirrel, the king of climbing, fall from upwards of 40ft.! I saw it immediatelly following an ice storm and I couldn’t believe it. I was deer hunting. I was walking back to the house and I see this squirrel just pitch out of a tree fall to the ground, hit it like a sack of fruit, hop up and climb right back up the tree! I thought I had seen everything until about a month later I saw another one fall. This time it wasn’t even icy! This one was from about the same hight and I couldn’t believe it when it hopped up and just ran off apparently unharmed! I have spent lots of time in the woods since then and I have yet to see that happen again.
February 5th, 2010 at 4:37 pm