– Foresters from Możdżanów were recently very lucky to see three white fallow deer in the forest, which is an extremely rare event – informed the Antonin Forest District (Greater Poland Voivodeship). The video and photos were published on social media.
The Antonin Forest District published a video on social media showing three white fallow deer. This view was immortalized on Thursday (November 7) by Maciej Kempiński from the Możdżanów Forest District (Greater Poland Voivodeship).
– I met them while working, around 9 o'clock. I was passing from one area to another – says Kempiński, and as he says, it was not the meeting itself that impressed him.
– This is not such a rare sight in our forestry, it was not my first such encounter with fallow deer. I've seen them several times already. What surprised me was their number. Usually you meet one individual passing by somewhere. This time it was different. While working in the forest, I saw as many as three fallow deer at one time. Moreover, we managed to record it – adds Mr. Maciej.
The rut is ending
Fallow deer belong to the deer family. They are smaller than deer, but larger than roe deer. They inhabit deciduous and mixed forests. They feed on bark, plants and shoots. Their “menu” also includes acorns and chestnuts.
In the case of fallow deer, varied coloration is not uncommon. These individuals most often have a reddish-brown back color, with characteristic white spots. But among fallow deer there are also individuals with a completely black color variant. White fallow deer are a rarer sight.
“The light color of fallow deer is professionally referred to as leucistic, i.e. almost white. In the skin, hair or feathers of animals affected by leucism, there is a deficiency of the darker pigment. Unlike albinism, leucism is caused by a deficiency not only of melanin, but also of all types of skin pigment” – foresters explain.
Fallow deer appeared in Central Europe in the 16th century. Initially, they were treated as park animals.
Main photo source: Antonin/Maciej Kempiński Forest District