PHOTOS: Rare white deer in NE Ohio spotted with new fawn

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WJW) – A rare white deer in Northeast Ohio appears to have given birth to a new fawn.

Former Mill Creek MetroParks Naturalist Robert Coggeshall lives near the park in Youngstown and has photographed and documented the journey of several white deer in the area for years.

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Most recently following the journey of a deer he calls “Faith.”

On May 17, Coggeshall shared on Facebook a photograph of a newlyborn fawn. He said, he spotted the young deer while photographing Faith and wrote, “Not sure if it is Faith’s or merely coincidental that Faith happened to be near it. Will check back later to see if Faith is still near to it.”

In the following days, Coggeshall continued to share updates of the fawn and Faith still close to one another.

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“I was out with Faith this morning, in the same location she was yesterday with the fawn. If it is her fawn, she has it well hidden, away from potential predators,” wrote Coggeshall in one post.

Then on May 22, Coggeshall shared additional pictures showing the two together — and on the move.

The young deer does not appear to display the same albino characteristics as its mother. However, that can be expected. According to worlddeer.org, an albino deer’s cells have little to no melanin, which gives it that bright white appearance.

“The condition is passed down from parents to offspring when both of the parents carry the recessive melanin gene. If one or neither of the parents has the gene, then the offspring won’t be albino,” reports worlddeer.org. “This is what makes the condition so rare, as the likelihood of both a doe and a buck having the recessive gene is extremely low.”

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While albino and white-colored animals are unusual to see, their presence in and around Northeast Ohio has been documented across social media and by local news outlets. Particularly, albino deer.

Mill Creek MetroParks has been home to several white deer over the years. Just a couple of years ago, FOX 8 reported on three baby deer born just outside of Millcreek Metroparks, including one that was albino.

Other animals with the rare color pigment that have made news headlines include an albino porcupine, swell shark, turtle, and raccoon – just to name a few.

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