White-tailed Fawn coat color can vary more than I expected. These two fawns from Mount Nebo State Park showed that difference clearly.
One had a darker, grayish face. The other had much warmer reddish-brown fur.
White-tailed Fawn Coat Color Can Vary
White-tailed fawns usually have reddish-brown coats covered with white spots. The spots help break up their shape against grass, leaves, and patches of sunlight.
However, not every fawn has the same shade of brown. Normal differences in pigmentation can make one appear darker, lighter, grayer, or redder than another.
Age may also play a part. Fawns do not all arrive at the same time, and their coats change as they grow. The spotted coat gradually gives way to the adult coat during the fall.
The Pennsylvania Game Commission’s White-tailed Deer profile describes fawns as reddish brown with white spots. It also explains that they take on adult coat colors in the fall.
Because I do not know the ages of these two fawns, I cannot say that age caused the difference. Genetics and normal individual pigmentation may also contribute.
What These Two Portraits Show
The first fawn had a dark gray area across its forehead and down its face. Its neck and body still showed the familiar warm brown fawn coat.
The second fawn looked much redder, especially around its forehead, ears, neck, and shoulders. Its face still had some darker gray coloring around the muzzle and eyes.
Light can strengthen these differences in a photograph. The surrounding colors, shade, and camera processing can make brown fur appear warmer or cooler. Even so, the contrast between these fawns appears to be more than lighting alone.
Neither fawn shows the extreme coloring associated with rare white or unusually dark deer. The most careful explanation is normal individual variation, possibly combined with differences in age and coat development.
Having two close portraits made the contrast much easier to notice. If I had photographed only one fawn, I probably would not have given its coat color much thought.
More Deer from My Mount Nebo Visit
These portraits were part of a productive morning at Mount Nebo State Park. I saw and photographed several different deer during that visit.
I watched White-tailed Deer grooming at Mount Nebo and photographed White-tailed Deer triplets at Mount Nebo. I also saw velvet bucks stopping for water.
Two young deer also found quiet places to rest. I shared that part of the morning in White-tailed Fawns Resting at Mount Nebo.
The difference in their coats was a small detail, but it made these portraits more interesting. Even two fawns photographed in the same park can have noticeably different appearances.