{"id":698,"date":"2026-11-05T16:04:26","date_gmt":"2026-11-05T15:04:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/whydidthedeercrosstheroad.langbeinwildlife.co.uk\/?p=698"},"modified":"2026-11-05T17:38:58","modified_gmt":"2026-11-05T16:38:58","slug":"a-wild-white-hart-filmed-in-the-rut-albino-red-deer-or-leucistic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/whydidthedeercrosstheroad.langbeinwildlife.co.uk\/?p=698","title":{"rendered":"A Wild White Hart filmed in the Rut : Albino red deer or Leucistic ?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The White Hart – Devon, October 2026, \u00a9Jochen Langbein @LangbeinWildlife <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

True<\/em> <\/strong>Albino Deer are extremely rare, especially so in wild \u2018Red Deer\u2019 (Cervus elaphus), making up fewer than 0.005 % (<1 in 20,000) of births. Nevertheless, over the past five to ten years in the UK there have been increasing numbers of white \u2018red\u2019 deer sightings in the wild. Many but not all of these have occurred in the county of Devon; some as far west as its boundary with Cornwall, others spread throughout much of the county including 75 miles east to the Blackdown Hills on the Devon \u2013 Somerset border.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Fallow deer (Dama dama<\/em>) white (non-albino) fur colouration is a frequently occurring variant (>10% of individuals in some wild herds). For red deer, however, leucism (partial loss of pigmentation, with white fur but normal colour eyes, eyelids and nose), is also very infrequent even if not quite as rare as albinism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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‘White’ Red Deer Stag in Devon. Note light eyes, pink nose, ears. \u00a9 Brian Johnston Photography<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Having followed with interest the increase in white deer sightings via \u2018The Deer Year\u2019<\/a> facebook group I oversee, I had long been meaning to try and take a closer look at some of the white deer for myself. At the peak of the red deer rut in mid-October I was fortunate to be able to join fellow wildlife photographers Brian Johnston<\/a> and Will Cory<\/a> on an outing to try to observe one of the \u2018White Harts\u2019 (Hart is a term generally reserved for male red deer) they had been following for some time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Wild red deer including white hind, male yearling and calf. \u00a9Will Cory <\/a> <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We had arranged to meet before sunrise, on what turned out to be the coldest night of the year so far, with a sharp frost at dawn and a frozen windscreen for my 5 am journey into Devon. \u00a0Fortunately, it was sufficiently cold and a light breeze to keep away the dense mist that I\u2019d feared might spoil the outing.\u00a0\u00a0 Having parked up for the start of our photo-stalk, I was amazed to spot a couple of specks of white female deer in the distance \u2013 among a herd of normal-coloured ones \u2013 whilst there was barely any daylight.\u00a0 For full video of our photo-outing see the Youtube clip below : (for higher resolution or large screen click ‘watch in YouTube’ icon).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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