A Rare Piebald Elk Was Spotted In A Small Town That Leads To The Rocky Mountain National Park
It is not rare to see elk in Estes Park, a small town in Colorado that leads to the Rocky Mountain National Park. Hundreds of the creatures wander all over town and in the park. They roam on golf courses, make their way into traffic, and even end up in various shops.
This month, one elk in particular has been gaining more attention than most due to its unusual coloring. A female elk with white patches of fur on her brown coat has been seen grazing around Estes Park, per Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW).
The female elk, which is called a cow, has piebaldism, a rare inherited condition that causes unpigmented skin and hair in animals and humans. The genetic trait occurs in about one out of every 100,000 elk.
Piebaldism affects the cells that are responsible for producing melanin, the pigment that determines hair, skin, and eye color.
These cells are known as melanocytes, and they are missing in some areas for animals and humans with the condition.
“Piebaldism is a recessive genetic trait that makes wildlife’s fur or facial features appear white and splotchy,” said Kara Van Hoose, a spokesperson for CPW. “So, it’s really easy to pick out, but a little bit harder to decipher exactly what that is.”
Humans with piebaldism tend to have a patch of white hair near the front of the head, according to the National Library of Medicine.
Their forehead skin, eyebrows, and eyelashes may also be lighter. They may have patches of unpigmented skin elsewhere on the body as well.
Piebaldism does not directly affect a person’s health, but the unpigmented skin patches can get sunburned more easily, resulting in a higher risk of skin cancer.
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The piebald cow in Estes Park is not the first elk in Colorado to be spotted with the condition. In 2023, a wildlife biologist captured images of a piebald cow near Montrose, a community in southwestern Colorado that is located on the other side of the Continental Divide.
Piebald elk and deer have also been observed in Oregon, Arkansas, Pennsylvania, and more. Rangers at Riverview Park in Pittsburgh have recently spotted a piebald robin. The bird still had a red front, but its dark feathers were dotted with white.
The robin has partial leucism, a phrase that is sometimes used in place of piebaldism. The Pittsburgh park rangers noted that the condition does not harm the bird.
It just makes it harder for the bird to blend in with its surroundings. Additionally, only one in 30,000 birds have leucism.
Leucism and piebaldism are different from albinism. Albino animals typically have pink eyes because the lack of melanin allows the color of their blood vessels to be visible, while leucistic or piebald animals have normal-colored eyes.
More About:Animals