Rare Sight: White Deer Filmed Grazing in Danbury

Danbury resident Shelley Lowell filmed this white deer in her backyard Sunday afternoon, a rare sight anywhere but especially in Connecticut.

After watching the video, Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) Wildlife Biologist Andrew LaBonte said the doe appears to be a piebald deer, “which is a genetic abnormality.”

According to LaBonte, piebald deer can have a range of white fur — “from very little to complete coverage” — and crops up in about 1-2 percent of the deer population.

“Piebald abnormalities are not extremely common,” LaBonte said, “Especially with this amount of white.”

The biologist said he has heard of a small herd of piebald deer in the Great Lakes region but a lone white deer in Connecticut is an uncommon sight.

Lowell put out some cracked corn for the doe to get her to stay still long enough for the 1:43-minute clip.