Residents share their memories of albino doe

by Wyoma Groenenberg
Tuesday, December 9, 2008 12:28 PM MST

She was a celebrity in her own right, with a following of many Casper residents.

The albino doe mule deer that wandered around Casper’s west side was found dead in the back yard of a Robertson Road resident on Nov. 27.

According to Robin Kepple, information specialist with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department in Casper, the responding warden said there was no evidence of injury to the deer, so the cause of death was likely natural causes.

Now, the G&F is exploring options of what to do with the doe’s body.

Some of deer’s fans are requesting that the body be stuffed by a taxidermist, with it later to be placed in the Werner Wildlife Museum or other place of honor.

Kepple said last week said that the department is checking into whether there is enough money in the budget to do this.

In the meantime, she noted that the G&F knows how much this deer with a genetic rarity meant to the community.

She explained that people always were bringing in photos or calling in with sightings or questions about the deer’s whereabouts.

“This deer lived a really long life, especially for an albino,” which is a recessive trait in mammals, Kepple said of the approximately 10-year-old doe.

An albino does not have the gene for normal coloration nor an enzyme responsible for skin, hair and tissue coloration, according to a G&F release.

Near or complete blindness is common in albino animals, and Kepple said it never was known if this deer was blind.

However, G&F personnel and the public said that the doe often was flanked by other deer, perhaps as a way of looking out for her.

The herd that the albino doe traveled with wandered mostly back and forth between Robertson Road and Mills, depending upon the time of the year.

“Obviously, food is the motivating factor” for moving around, Kepple said. “If they’re finding what they need, mule deer won’t go far from where they’re born.”

Dale Smith of Mills had kept an eye on the doe and photographed her since she was a fawn.

His job with the Town of Mills enabled him to know when the herd was in the area, which usually was two, or sometimes three, times a year.

While following the albino over the past 10 years, Smith said he watched to see if she ever had white offspring. He never saw any and nor were any ever reported to the G&F, Kepple noted.

Sue Regennas of Mills started photographing the doe last spring and had taken pictures of her in September, saying she looked fine then.

Regennas recently sent some of her photos of the deer into a contest for the G&F’s magazine, Wyoming Wildlife.

In a sort of final tribute to the albino doe, Kepple said, “I’m glad (people in Casper) had this experience of seeing her. It isn’t something you see every day.”

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