Rare sight: Family of 3 white deer caught on camera in rural NC

Whether albino or piebald, seeing a white deer is an uncommon and incredible sight in North Carolina – and seeing three white deer together is even more rare!

A photo of three white deer crossing a road in Person County is going viral on Facebook.

Bobbie Randleman sent the unique photo to WRAL's Renee Chou, who found the post quickly gained thousands of likes, shares and comments on her Facebook page.

In the comments, another viewer named Lianna Slaughter provided more insight into the group of three white deer, who she believes could be the same family.

"These deer live near me and are frequently in my backyard," she wrote. "It is a mother and her twins that were born in early July 2023. Interesting fact: The mother is also a twin. We haven't seen her brother in the area in two years or more."

She shared another photo of three white deer, showing them in her yard in October.

She says although they look albino, their eyes are actually blue, not pink, making them leucistic, not albino.

According to the NC Wildlife Commission, "Albino deer are deer that lack pigmentation and have a completely white hide and pink eyes, nose and hooves. Piebald deer are much more common with some studies showing the trait may show up in one in 1,000 deer. Albinism is much rarer and may only be observed in one in 30,000 deer."

However, an article on 'Genetics and the Making of a White Deer' explains "the more white genes there are in a population, the higher the chance of getting white fawns."

Plus, if there are any barriers restricting the movement of breeding adults, there's even more of a chance of two genetically white deer breeding. Perhaps that's how this unusual family of white deer came to be.