Here are some photos of a couple of albino deer in Quincy Michigan Wahkon, Minnesota. These pictures were taken out the back door of a local homeowner. The homeowners have been seeing these two for a while but couldn’t snap a decent picture during the dusk or dawn hours. Recently they showed up to the feeder during daylight hours and they were able to get the photos below.
Albinism is hereditary and causes a lack of pigmentation. These albino deer have skin that lacks melanin (pigment) which helps protect the skin from ultraviolet radiation coming from the sun. They can sunburn easily from overexposure to direct sunlight. Lack of melanin in the eye also results in problems with vision.
Shooting and then mounting an albino deer used to be quite the trophy for hunters due to their rarity. Now, though, simply snapping a picture suffices.
How about that Browning logo feeder? I have no idea why the bottom photo was flipped.
Update 12/28/08
Sadly, here’s a story of someone that saw one and decided to shoot it.
See comments below for actual location of these beautiful animals.
Update 1/15/09
The local news station did a video news story concerning the pair of albino deer. Seems they are 2 years old and are named Snow Flake and Snow Ball. One female and one male. This is my favorite story on this blog. Simply beautiful.
Comments
26 responses to “True Twin Albino Deer seen in Wahkon, Minnesota”
The last picture taken in these series of pictures does not match….. If you look at it, the trees and everything are switched from being on left and right, are switched around….. How can this be? If they were to take a picture not from their door way, the opp of what the other pics were…….
Lauene, that last picture was flipped during editing. That’s why it looks backwards.
OK. So I have seen this picture several times now and if you do a google search the same picture shows up with claims the location is in their state. So far I have seen Montana, Minnesota, Michigan, Ohio, Idaho and Texas. Can anyone authenitcate this picture and where it was actually taken?
It seems strange that there is a web page that talks about the twin albino fawns in MONTANA – and the pictures are the exact same pictures. So, who is right – where are they – why aren’t any names listed as to who took the pictures?
[…] out the photo was taken in Quincy, Mich. But, no matter where it was taken, these deer are too cool, and true […]
If you get more pictures would enjoy viewing. Just awesome pic’s. Thanks for sharing. If you can keep track of these twins as they grow up would really enjoy to see how well they do.
Hello,
I see my photos of the albino deer made it to your website. They have been coming to my backyard feeder since 2006. Back then they were only fawns. The photo was flipped so the browning logo would be facing the right direction for their online contest.
If you would like to see more of the twins,go to http://kstp.com/article/stories/S348404.shtml?cat=1&v=1 The local TV from Minneapolis Mn. did a story on the twins from my home.
Thanks,
Tim
timroeschlein@scicable.com
Hello,
I see my photos of the twin albinos made it to this web site. Actually the photos were taken in Minnesota from my backyard.
I made the deer feeder and entered it at http://www.browning.com in their online contest. You can even vote on it! Hint hint!
The feeder was facing in the wrong direction for the Browning logo so I flipped the entry photo. The twins are so cool to watch and if you would like to see more of them go to http://kstp.com/article/stories/S348404.shtml?cat=1&v=1 Local TV from Minneapolis did a segment on the twins from my home.
Thanks,
Tim
timroeschlein@scicable.com
I have seen albino deer and i live in Michigan. They live out back in the woods where i grew up. I have no clue if they are there still, but i have seen albino deer often enough. Not saying it was taken here, but i am saying they are in Michigan
Looking at these two young innocents make me feel unexpectedly uplifted, it’s like they’re angels.
My family and I saw two albino does and their brown mother at Father Hennepin state park yesterday. Have several photos and video of them.
Yesterday, my mother, Anna Reitz, saw an albino deer in Indiana on State Road 41, 20 miles north of Vincennes, IN. It was at dawn, and she said it was the most STUNNING site she’s ever seen. I am on Google researching ablino deers for her since we did not know they exist. Hunter or no hunter, who would kill such a beautiful creature? Their coat as we all know is white and therefore does not blend in with nature making them an easy mark to get killed. In our opinion, they should be considered protected and put on a preserve somewhere for protection or even in a Zoo so they are protected from hunters and the world can see these rare creatures.
PS. The vision stays in her mind and is forever unforgettable. She felt like to see this beautiful site was a gift from God.
Tim above, who claimed that these twin albino deers were in his yard, is a deer hunter. Check his link:
http://www.biggamehunt.net/stories/Minnesota_Twin_Albino_Deer_08310812.html
and scroll down, you will see his picture with two deers’ head while holding a shotgun. I wonder what happened to these twin albino deers. Hunters don’t care for the life of wildlife animals and he probably did this for publicity and hopes for $$.
Anonymous,
If you would have watched and LISTENED to my television link, you would have heard the narrator state that I am an avid deer hunter. Although it’s legal to harvest albino deer here in Minnesota, I choose not to do so. These deer have been visiting my backyard since they were little fawns back in 2006. I see them as a gift from God and not a food source.
I thought you might find it enlightening to know that there are many hunters like myself, that realize the need to preserve our rare and unique wildlife for future generations to enjoy.
If you haven’t seen my television link, please watch it and hopefully you will better understand. http://kstp.com/article/stories/S348404.shtml?cat=1&v=1
Local TV from Minneapolis Minnesota, did a story on the twins from my home. The deer are only 25 feet from my kitchen window so the film crew got some great footage!
The twins are still around. They are three years old this year and nearing adulthood. They are establishing their own home ranges so they don’t travel together anymore.
I have not accepted any compensation for my photos and you can see them on many websites. I received a copy of the TV program from KSTP TV in Minneapolis but they do not offer money. You just get your five minutes of fame. It never has been about money.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources say albino deer are bad for the herd and should be shot. I think they are missing the whole point.
Albino deer are very rare. Now consider how much more rare albino twins would be. It’s astronomical!
They are truly things of beauty and I would never shoot one so please don’t label me with hunters that don’t care about our wildlife.
Sincerely,
Tim Roeschlein
po box 14
Wahkon, Mn. 56386
timroeschlein@scicable.com
Thanks, Tim, for your thoughtful response and providing additional detail.
Joe
Also to Anonymous. Hunters care more about the outdoors and wildlife than any other group in the world. Hunting deer and other wildlife is VERY necessary. Without hunting the deer population would literally explode out of control. The animals would soon deplete their food sources, and our food sources, and soon die of starvation and disease. Not to mention how many would be killed on our highways every year. The cost of property damage would be in the millions, wait a minute, it’s already in the millions! Go ask a farmer if deer affect hid crops. He’ll tell you that if it wasn’t for hunters, he wouldn’t have any crops. The DNR in Michigan hands out doe permits to farmers like throwing candy at a parade. They are trying to find ways to make hunters take more deer every year. So like Tim said, open your ears and listen before you speak.
Butiful deer.1 was spoted in Kirtland Where I live.But I never seen 1.
Well after several veiwings of the photos i still dont understand them. Ya it is something small but the trees in the back just dont match up. the surroundings are the same but the placment of the trees are off. Look at the first two. the large tree in the back you can see the entire trunk but the other pics the trunk is covered by brnaches. then if you look at the little bare tree in the first two on the right it is the same as the one in the other pics. These photos looked docketered. I would not belive the authenticity of them. No matter how much you say they are real. I belive the deer are real but the photos i dont think are.
I hope the true location is never revealed. Why, so another asshole can shoot the remaining deer?
We have seen the albino deer in Father Hennepin State Park, which is just a few miles from Waukon Minnesota. It is rumored that the buck goes into the park every fall during deer hunting season. I guess he knows he is protected there – smart deer! Anyone can see the white does almost any day just by driving through the park. They are very tame and dont seem to be afraid of people. I hope they stay in the park where they are protected. They are so beautiful!
Too cute, and way cool! And they’re Browning Fans
Santa Claus Indiana, yes, A baby albino deer was spotted yesterday by my mother who lives there! Thank G! They cannot be hunted in the private area where she lives.
To those debating the authenticity of the photo: who cares? Do you want a nobel prize for not trusting everything on the internet? But to not trust anything would be cowardly after all, it saves ever having been deceived and life without some amount of chance isn’t quite living in my eye. There’s a vast margin between critical thinking and paranoia, you don’t always have to choose the later. Pam, not all hunters are assholes, the majority do it to preserve the species by spending their hard earned money on tags so the money goes to fund preserves and research. That ensures that these fellow creatures on this planet aren’t completely wiped out by lack of regulation. I understand where you’re coming from and killing an animal as wall furniture, especially one of these rare beauties, is pathetic in my mind. But I dunno, I guess supporting cows spending their lives crowded in a cage never knowing freedom, raised for the sole purpose of sating the hungry wolves in the neighborhood Safeway is a much more humane choice. At least wild game breathe free air. Death is just another necessary extension of life that no matter how our emotions play into the idea cannot be denied. People have a fear and lack of understanding of that concept and that is where emotion takes control; how they manifest it through their beliefs and choices is varied. But not trying to lecture anyone. Absolutely magnificent deer though, a very rare creature. Have yet to see one like that out here in Montana, let alone two.
As a hunter, I want to disagree with whoever said that hunters do not care about the lives of wildlife. I, myself, am an animal lover, but I also love hunting. Do you believe that our ancestors were bloodthirsty monsters just because they hunted on a daily basis? I didn’t think so. As hunters, we give more to wildlife conservation than any other group of people. A lot of the money spent on hunting licenses and on game tags every year goes directly to preserving the various species and making sure that they thrive. Without hunting, as someone said already, the deer, elk, moose, bear, etc, populations would explode and they would all die because of food and space competition. Only a certain number of tags are given out every year. The number is based on how many deer the land can provide for. They lower it to that number, then no more tags are given out. Without hunters, these beautiful albinos, of which I refuse to even consider aiming at, would have starved to death long ago. Please, read more about something before you accuse it of being no good. Thank you.
We saw an albino deer today in Youngstown Ohio.