A completely white deer recently appeared at one of the monitored feeding points in the Bucegi Natural Park. The appearance is surprising even for Romsilva representatives who say that a white deer is extremely rare in Romania’s fauna.
“This “color” of the fur is due to albinism, which is a genetic disorder, characterized by the lack or production of a very small amount of melanin, the pigment responsible for coloring the skin, eyes and hair.
Albinism is not a disease or the result of any genetic mutation, it occurs due to a congenital hypo-pigmentation disorder, characterized by the partial or total absence of melanin, the natural pigment. This color puts the animal at a disadvantage because it stands out very strongly outside of the hibernation season. In the animal world, the appearance of bee specimens is usually an indicator of high density.
These genetic disorders appear as a result of the phenomenon called inbreeding, i.e. the fertilization of related specimens, Romsilva representatives explained on the Facebook page.