Deer are a common site in Iowa, but one in eastern Iowa is drawing moreattention than normal. Residents of eastern Iowa first noticed the white animal with pink eyes andears — and thought it was a dog. But Joe Wilkenson of the Iowa Departmentof Natural Resources says it was eventually identified as an albino deer.Wilkenson says albino deer are rare, showing up only every eight to tenyears. The last documented albino deer lived in north-central Iowa. The albino doe lived near St. Ansgar in the early 1980s and was the impetusfor a state law making it illegal to kill the animals. Wilkenson saysalbino animals normally don’t fare well in the wild. He says albino animals usually are easy prey for predators since they haveno camaflage. But he says deer don’t have any predators other than humans inIowa. The albino deer from north-central Iowa died in 1988. Area residentschipped in for a full body taxidermy mount, and the animal is now featuredin a glass case, in a downtown St. Ansgar park.
