Latest news with #leucism
Yahoo
18-07-2025
- General
- Yahoo
SEE IT: Unique deer making rounds in local community
NORTH OLMSTED, Ohio (WJW) — A unique fawn appears to be making its rounds in North Olmsted. FOX 8 viewer Mat Hendricks sent us video of the baby deer, which is nearly all white except for a few dark patches around its eyes. Hendricks said the fawn was spotted on Tuesday, July 15 near Lorain Road. STEP INSIDE: Ohio's most expensive home needs a buyer A few weeks earlier, another FOX 8 viewer submitted a similar video of what appears to be the same young deer, spotted nearby along Gessner Road. Both viewers said the eye-catching deer was with its mom and sibling. The unique genetic trait may be getting passed along through the generations of deer in the area. Ominous cloud over NE Ohio: What was it? In November 2024, a similar deer was spotted, also along Lorain Road. At the time, FOX 8 reported that, according to ODNR Wildlife Communications Specialist Monika Bowman Bell, the deer most likely has a pigmentation anomaly called leucism, or the partial absence of melanin in the animal. According to Bell, unlike albinism, which is a complete lack of melanin, including the eyes, leucistic animal eyes are typically unaffected and they may have dark hooves or other coloration, like spots. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Solve the daily Crossword
BBC News
12-06-2025
- Science
- BBC News
Rare white starling spotted by Chatteris bird watchers
Bird watchers have been baffled by the appearance of a rare white bird in their town. People in Chatteris, Cambridgeshire, have been on the lookout for what is believed to be a starling with leucism - a type of genetic mutation which affects pigment in birds' spotting it in her back garden, Claire Roby, 32, said the starling was "so beautiful I couldn't even describe it".But members of the Cambridgeshire Bird Club have debated if the bird was leucistic or had albinism, a condition characterized by a lack of melanin pigment resulting in white or pale plumage. Ms Roby, who moved to the UK from South Africa in 2022, said: "I wasn't sure what it was."It was just a pure white bird amongst all the others. "I've watched these birds every day for the last three years and that is the first time I have seen it. "I am an avid bird watcher so the fact this is the first time I have seen it - and I always have my eye in the sky - it's quite incredible." Dr Vince Lee, from the Cambridgeshire Bird Club, believed the bird was leucistic rather than albino, but said it was difficult to tell from the photos."Albinos have pink eyes and tend not to survive long because the lack of pigment in the eye causes them to lose eyesight. It is much rarer in wild birds. "The leucistic trait is caused by an inherited lack of pigment cells - melanin being the same chemical that gives humans brown skin tones." He said research suggested about one in in 30,000 birds had either leucism or who spotted it shared their sightings on Facebook, with some claiming to have seen more than one of the rare birds in the town. Follow Cambridgeshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
CBS News
12-05-2025
- Science
- CBS News
Extremely rare piebald robin spotted in Pittsburgh park
A robin with an extremely rare condition that turns part of its body white has been spotted around a Pittsburgh park. Pittsburgh park rangers shared photos last week of a piebald robin that's all the talk around Riverview Park. The park rangers explained that the robin, which still has a red breast but has black and white speckled feathers, has a genetic condition called leucism, meaning some cells lack pigment and others don't. What is leucism? According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, full leucism happens when there's a reduction in all types of pigment, making an animal appear paler than normal. Partial leucism results in irregular patches of white, a pattern that is often called "pied" or "piebald." Leucism is different than albinism, which is a genetic mutation that interferes with the production of the pigment melanin. Pittsburgh park rangers say albino animals have red or pink eyes, while animals with leucism still have color in their eyes. "This does not hurt the bird, except that it doesn't blend in with its environment as easily as it would otherwise," Pittsburgh park rangers explained. How rare is leucism? The park rangers say only 1 in 30,000 birds have leucism, "so this splotchy robin is pretty rare and special!" It's not the first piebald animal to be spotted in the Pittsburgh area. Last fall, a wildlife camera in Western Pennsylvania captured video of a piebald deer, which was both brown and white. The Pennsylvania Game Commission said piebald deer are reported at rates well under 1% of the population.
