Piebaldism also makes deer susceptible to predation as they are easier to see with white coloring. It can also cause an array of possible deformities, including changes to skeletal alignment like short legs and curved spines. Piebaldism does not just affect coat coloration. That makes this characteristic very rare, affecting less than two percent of the white-tailed deer population, according to David Osborn, wildlife research coordinator at the University of Georgia Deer Research Facility.

Piebaldism is a recessive trait, which means both parents must carry the recessive gene for this coat coloration in order for them to produce a piebald offspring. Piebaldism is a genetic phenomenon that causes a lack of pigmentation in patches around the body. Photo Credit: Gary FrazierĪ piebald white-tailed deer was seen in Cary, North Carolina, last December. The piebald deer in Cary, North Carolina. Because gynandromorphic birds are so rare, most of what is known about their behavior and the effects of this mutation comes from just one bird-a half-male, half-female northern cardinal found in 2008. This mutation is likely present across all bird species, but it is harder to detect in a species where adult males and females look similar, Daniel Hooper, a postdoctoral fellow at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, told National Geographic. Gynandromorphism is a very rare condition that is known to occur in insects, snakes, crustaceans, and birds. So, its brain is likely half-male, half-female, too. The cardinal not only appears half-male, half-female, but it also has the genetic makeup for both sexes.

Gynandromorphism likely occurs because of an error during egg formation. This genetic anomaly is referred to as bilateral gynandromorphism because it causes a split right down the middle with half of the species’ body resembling a male and the other half a female. The gynandromorphic cardinal in Erie, Pennsylvania. Photo Credit: Shirley CaldwellĪ gynandromorphic-meaning half-male, half-female-northern cardinal was spotted in Erie, Pennsylvania, in January 2019.

Half zebra animal