Seneca white deer

Seneca white deer inside the depot

The Seneca white deer are a rare herd of deer living within the confines of the former Seneca Army Depot in Seneca County, New York. When the 10,600-acre (43 km2) depot was created in 1941, a 24-mile (39 km) fence was erected around its perimeter, isolating a small herd of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), some of which had white coats. These deer are not albino, but instead have leucism, which is an abnormal genetic condition that carries a set of recessive genes for all-white coats.[1] While little is known about what caused leucism in the white-tailed deer, especially for this herd,[2] researchers have noticed that its isolation causes high levels of inbreeding.[3] With inbreeding, it leaves recessive alleles of the white-tailed population to be expressed. This recessive trait does not pose a danger to the animal. However, it is very rare.

In the 1950s, the depot commander forbade GIs from shooting any white deer.[4] The deer population has since grown to about 700 head, approximately 300 of which are white, making it the largest herd of white deer in the world. Seneca White Deer were created through years of selective breeding within the depot to create an environment where they can flourish.[5][6][7]

  1. ^ Champagne, Denise (February 16, 2007). "White deer and more at old depot". Finger Lakes Times. Geneva, New York. p. 2.
  2. ^ Guastalla, Michelle Granato; de Azevedo, Fernanda Cavalcanti; Vogliotti, Alexandre; Lacerda, Wagner Rafael; Magina, Giulius Cesare; Cardoso, Clarice Augusta Carvalho; Endo, Whaldener; Peres, Carlos Augusto; Haugaasen, Torbjørn; Rocha, Daniel Gomes; Lemos, Frederico Gemesio (October 2021). "The mysterious white deer: anomalous coloring in different Neotropical deer". Mammalian Biology. 101 (5): 665–673. doi:10.1007/s42991-021-00156-9. ISSN 1616-5047. S2CID 237766658.
  3. ^ "Nature up close: White deer". www.cbsnews.com. January 10, 2019. Retrieved 2019-09-27.
  4. ^ "A Herd of Ghost Deer Roams Seneca's Abandoned Army Depot". Slate. 2013-09-13. ISSN 1091-2339. Archived from the original on 2013-09-13. Retrieved 2022-02-08.
  5. ^ Solorzano, Bianca (December 16, 2006). "Can These Rare White Deer Be Saved?". CBS News. Retrieved November 15, 2008.
  6. ^ York, Michelle (March 21, 2004). "Nurtured at Army Depot, Rare Deer Herd Is Suggested As a Key to Tract's Future". The New York Times. Retrieved November 15, 2008.
  7. ^ Fallesen, Gary (October 15, 2006). "Rare deer spark depot tours". Democrat and Chronicle. Rochester, New York. p. 14D.