Monday, March 22, 2010

Wherefore the white deer?

I took the photo of the piebald deer last year on Orcas Island. I've been wondering (off and on) ever since just how so many of the deer on the island were partially white. According to this little US Geological Survey site (written by Matthew Perry *chuckle*), the white comes from a recessive gene and usually becomes expressed when herds become overpopulated. I'd rephrase that to say when deer rarely die, because that's probably what's going on on Orcas Island and specifically the aptly named Doe Bay . I don't know what would kill a deer on that island besides a car, or maybe if it was swimming, an orca.

So that's pretty much what this blog is going to be about. I have a question about something I see, hear, read, or I guess, feel (like if I have questions about getting punched in the face or something), and then I'll give a short little answer, probably with a link or two.

3 comments:

  1. This reminds me of this article we had to read in high school about whether Zebras were black with white stripes or white with black stripes. Turns out they're black with white stripes and we're all racist. Go figure.

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  2. But what about the orcas? Can't we accept a mixed race animal?

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  3. Tapirs are like two different races of horsepigs grafted together.

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