The short answer is no. There are three major categories of white animals. The first is genetically white – white tigers receive a recessive white allele from each parent. If two white tigers mate, then all the offspring will be white. A heterozygous normal phenotype mated with a white phenotype would yield half normal and half white. Genetically white animals are usually a true white; dark stripes, rings or masks usually appear the same color (sometimes diluted) as found in the normal phenotype. The eyes are the normal color.

Albinism occurs when melanin is not produced by melanocytes. Melanin is the pigment that colors our skin. Sunlight stimulates its production. The melanin provides protection from UV damage. This protection extends to the eyes. Without melanin to protect them, eyes suffer from many issues including photosensitivity.

Albinism is easily identified by the striking red eyes. Eyes appear red or pink because without melanin in the iris, the capillaries inside the eye show through. Even animals that have genetically blue eyes will have a pink cast because the melanin helps provide opacity. The coat color will be a creamy white to pale yellow – the color isn’t a true white. Dark markings will be expressed as gray or pale tan. Most animals express as completely albino, but there are cases when only certain parts of the body are affected.

Many believe that albinism is a freak occurrence. However, albinism is actually genetic. It is a recessive trait that can be inherited. Most types strike males and females equally, but there is one type that is X-linked. The melanocytes are normal, but the body either doesn’t produce a necessary enzyme or produces a defective enzyme. Therefore, the chemical reaction necessary to produce melanin cannot occur.

Many believe that albino animals are not successful in the wild because they lack protective coloration. While this may be true for prey animals, it doesn’t explain the same phenomenon in predators like raccoon and raptors. The answer may lie in the extreme eye problems suffered by these individuals. In addition to focusing problems, albinos sometimes suffer from spasmodic stuttering. In addition, individuals suffer from extreme photosensitivity. Light cannot be regulated by pupil size since no matter how small the pupil becomes, light penetrates the colorless iris. The individual may not see well enough to evade predators or hunt for itself.

The last cause of white animals involves defective pigment producing cells. It affects all pigment producing cells, not just the melanin producing cells. Either the cells fail to develop or the cell for whatever reason does not deposit pigment. Leucism is a genetic mutation. The defective cells may cover the whole body or they may occur in patches. Piebald animals express patches of normal coloration among a background of white. Selective breeding produces sufficient numbers of leucistic individuals to breed for the trait. Partially leucistic breeds are common in dogs, cats and horses.

Because all pigment producing cells are affected, leucism produces fur and feathers that are more of a true white. Dark markings reveal themselves as either pale shadows or not at all. Interestingly, the eye color is normally pigmented. The reason is that the cells that give rise to the iris are different in origin from those that form fur and feathers.

It is easy to determine if an animal is an albino because of the red eyes. The determination of genetically white versus leucistic is a little more difficult since produce normal colored eyes and true white coat / feathers. Since genetic testing is usually prohibitive, the deciding factor may be the frequency of expression. Leucism is a genetic mutation while genetically white expression is a recessive gene. Piebald individuals may be partial expression of leucism, but some genes also create a piebald appearance. In the absence of genetic testing, only extensive breeding across several generations will give a definitive determination of cause.

An interesting fact – it is actually difficult to get a skunk to spray. They hoard their chemical weapon since they only have four or five sprays at a time and it takes ten days to make more. The big caveat is “unless they are startled”. Skunks are very nearsighted (and a little cross-eyed in appearance) and you have to be dangerously close for them to see you. Given the opportunity to flee they will, however there isn’t a self-respecting dog that won’t make a wild dash to see what smells so “wonderful”. Dogs don’t seem to learn their lesson either. Other wild animals give it wide berth.

The skunk, in my humble opinion is the most beautiful and interesting wild animal to rehabilitate, Raccoon babies are just plain cute and they are my first love, but the cross-eyed, pidgin -toed skunk has the most exquisitely thick and lustrous coat. They aren’t the sharpest knife in the drawer, but thanks to their defense mechanism, they don’t have to be. Like the raccoon, the idiosyncratic behaviors emerge shortly after the eyes open. While young enough to still be nursing, the babies will stomp their front feet, flip their south end to you and flip their tail over their back and assume “the position”. They aren’t really spraying at this age, but you don’t want to be in a closed room with them too long either. Like raccoons, skunks must be rehabilitated off-site. The Wildlife Center accepts ALL injured, sick or orphaned Texas native wild animals, however some animals like raccoon, skunk, bat and deer must be rehabilitated at the homes of state and federally permitted rehabilitators.

Thanks in part to Pepe Le Pew, when asked to describe a skunk most people will mention “the bomb” and “the stripe”. While they all have “the bomb”, some have a single white stripe, others have two white stripes and still others have broken stripes and spots. The black and white color scheme isn’t a given either. Skunks can range to brown or gray to cream. Around here, this is unusual though. Skunks are born with their stripe, unlike raccoon who can be born with only a hint of mask and ringed tail.

Thought by many to be nocturnal, they are actually crepuscular (most active at dawn and dusk). However, if they feel safe, they will boldly venture out during the day also. Like raccoon and opossum they will eat almost anything that doesn’t eat them first. They have an interesting taste for honey bees – not the honey, the bees themselves. Adults have been seen teaching their young to scratch on the hive just enough to get the bees stirred up and then eat the bees as they emerge. Adults are the size of a small house cat – with really short legs. Once mature, the skunk’s life is largely solitary. In bitterly cold weather, they may den together for mutual warmth. Females and that year’s litter will den in one and the males in another. Like raccoons, babies remain near mom until the spring when she goes into season again. The lifespan of a skunk isn’t very long, like the opossum it is usually only three or four years. In captivity they can live eight to ten years.

Skunks are terrestrial in nature and use their long front claws to excavate dens and dig up juicy grubs for dinner. They will also den dark tight places, like under the porch or garden shed or behind bales of hay. If you find one living in an inconvenient location, the same techniques used to get raccoons to move out of attics will work for skunks. See the articles under the “Need Help?” tab for ideas.

There are many recipes for the removal of skunk spray, but most don’t work, despite what your grandmother says. Only one recipe for skunk odor removal has been “confirmed” by Mythbusters (a chemist published it in 1993). Mix and use immediately, it will not keep. In fact, if stored in a tightly sealed container it could explode.

one quart of 3% hydrogen peroxide

one quarter cup of baking soda

one teaspoon of liquid hand soap (not detergent)

Saturate affected area and work it well into the fabric/coat/skin. Rinse with warm water and repeat as necessary.

Charley Harper is my favorite wildlife artist, considered a “modern minimalist” he captured the essence and humor of his subjects with simple geometric shapes. Each artwork has a paragraph or two about what inspired the image. Often the image showed the conflict between two species – the Mockingbird plucking hair from a cat that got too close to the nest or the squirrel raiding the birdfeeder. With respect to the skunk he wrote “Skunks have THE BOMB. Long ago they won the animal arms race glands down. Now they walk among us in peace, using their terrible weapon only as a deterrent.” Hiding in the woodpile, eyes shining in the night are the raccoons who are respectfully waiting for the skunk eat its fill. There isn’t much that can get between a raccoon and dinner…but the skunk is one.

Nighthawks belong to the Nightjar family which includes Whip-poor-will and Chuck-will’s-widow. The family is called  Caprimulgidae from the Latin caper which means goat and mulgeo to milk or suck.  There is a legend that these birds sucked milk from goat in the night but they actually were feeding on flying insects stirred up by the goats.  Another legend has them sucking the blood of goats. Biting insects attack the goats causing them to bleed. The innocent Nighthawks were eating the insects preying on the goats.

Common Nighthawk eat and drink “on the wing”, which means that they snatch insects in flight and skim calm lakes and creeks for water. The tiny beak belies the astounding gape of these birds. Unlike many birds that eat on the wing and use the beak to manipulate the prey before swallowing, the Nighthawk simply sweeps the air like a butterfly net scooping up everything in its path.

Considered to be strictly ground nesters, the flat gravel covered roofs provide uniquely predator proof nesting sites. In the “wild” these birds rest on the ground where they blend perfectly into the leaf-litter. When startled, they bounce relatively short distances and try to hide again.

Like the Whale Shark, which is neither a shark or a whale, the Nighthawk doesn’t exclusively feed at night, nor is it a hawk. Yet, the Wildlife Center receives many “hawks” each year that turn out to be Common Nighthawks. The coloration reminds one of hawks and owls, but the tiny pointed beak and unusually small feet are definitely not like a raptor’s. They are the crepuscular equivalent to swallows and swifts.

The male’s mating acrobatics are unique in that steep dives culminate in a loud booming sound as it soars up again. The Common Nighthawk migrates tremendous distances, some travel from northern Ontario to central Argentina. The Houston area hosts several different species from this family as they migrate through in the spring and the fall.  The species that nests here is the Common Nighthawk.

The landowner dug a trench to create an artificial den. At the uphill end of the trench, he placed a five-gallon bucket. To the cap of the bucket, he connected  a “tunnel” of metal dryer vent. Then everything except the entrance was buried. A low fence was erected to guide the armadillo to the nearby pond. Back-up food was provided. The armadillo had been busy digging around the enclosure, so the fence was removed.

The landowner dug up the den one week later check on the health and well-being of the brothers. He discovered that two of the three armadillo was still calling it home. It is thought that the largest of the three was probably foraging nearby or had struck out on his own. It is expected that the remaining two will eventually abandon the artificial den, but it will be there in case they need a place to hide. What a perfect release! It makes all of the work worthwhile.

One family has taken Red-Shouldered Hawks “under their wing”. Each year nestlings and fledglings get blown or shoved out of the nest. After WR&E checks them out and provides several good meals, the babies are renested. The first permutation was the animal kennel strapped to the tree. (Don’t forget drain holes or a heavy rain will drown the very animals you are trying to save) It isn’t beautiful, but the parents faithfully raised their babies. When predators became a problem, another kennel was placed on top of a shed. This kennel had holes in the sides that were big enough for the parent to stick in their head to feed, but too small for the predator. The parents adapted beautifully and continued to feed their offspring. Once the chicks were large enough to fend off the predator, they were moved to an open airline kennel.

So intrigued about the behavior of the hawks and to check up on the parents to make sure they were caring for their offspring, they mounted webcams. Family and friends delighted in watching the parents bring food to their chicks. They aren’t the only people we have heard of doing this. One raccoon lover set up webcams so he could keep track of his charges.

Concerned that the parents were having difficulty feeding themselves and their offspring, the family began providing supplemental food if one or more babies was in the original nest and others were renested in an animal crate. At the Wildlife Center, the raptors are fed frozen mice and rats that have been thawed. It is an old wife’s tale that raptors won’t eat prey animals that are already dead. These parents as well as all of the raptors at the Wildlife Center knew a good deal when it was presented. As long as the meat is fresh, they aren’t picky.

This year, the homeowners reported the parents were “picking on one of the babies”. This behavior is so unusual that when it fell, they were directed to bring it straight to the Wildlife Center instead of trying to renest it. While being observed, it was noted that the baby began to move its head oddly, sometimes leaning so far the head is upside down. This neurologic symptom is characteristic of West Nile virus. Days before symptoms became obvious; the parents knew there was something wrong. The Wildlife Center will continue to provide supportive care in hopes that this chick’s immune system can overcome the virus.

Renesting can and does work even in songbirds. Unless the baby is compromised in some way by insects, hypothermia or injury the first course of action is to see if placing the baby in a substitute nest will bring the parents in to feed. If there are questions or concerns, contact the Wildlife Center immediately – phones are manned 9 – 6 weekdays and 9 – 4 weekends. You can also leave a message and one of our trained volunteers will return your call.

Each time the mom deer or rabbit returns from foraging, she leaves another scent trail that could potentially lead a predator to the nest. While she is in the nest, her scent is a big neon sign pointing not only to her, but to her baby(ies). So, as the baby gets older and can go longer between nursing, she spends more and more time nearby, but not with her offspring. Deer further confuse predators my moving their fawn(s) from one location to another.

In fact, prey animals often build their burrows and park their babies near human buildings because they know predators like coyote are less likely to approach. They are much less afraid of us and our domestic animals than they are of coyotes, feral dogs, raccoon and raptors. Every golf course has a story of mother deer parking the fawns against the clubhouse during the day.

So what to do when a rabbit’s den is found or a fawn is seen? Usually the babies are just fine where they are, but you should conduct a quick inspection. It is an old wives’ tale that the parent will reject babies that have been touched. First, look to see if the baby is wet, cold, injured, covered with ants, fly eggs, maggots or is very weak. Look for injuries such as a broken leg – symmetry is a wonderful thing; you don’t have to know anatomy to know that one limb is being held dramatically different than the other or the skin is broken. Also look for the presence of ants, fly eggs or maggots. Fly eggs look like clumps of small yellow rice grains. The whole body should be checked for fly eggs since they will be laid on any broken skin or body opening (eyes, ear, nose or urinary/genital area).

Hypothermia (becoming too cold) is life threatening, quick action should be taken to warm the animal. Almost all wildlife, with the notable exception of the opossum, have internal temperatures that are higher than ours and because of their small body mass chill easily. The younger the animal the more important it is to keep the animal warm.

With respect to the rabbits, place a large box with a big door cut into the side over the den to prevent accidental injury of the babies by lawn equipment. If you are concerned about your dog getting into the burrow then make sure that the entrance hole is large enough for the mother, but too small for your dog. Place something heavy on the box to prevent the dog from tipping it over.

With respect to fawn, it is really really hard to sit back and wait for mom to return. Sometimes she won’t return until dusk. If the fawn was found in the morning, it is nerve wracking to wait all day for mom. But if the fawn is dry, free of ants and fly eggs, has no broken skin or bones, eyes look aware and is strong enough to raise its head, the best course of action is to wait until dark for mom. If mom hasn’t returned by dark, the fawn(s) needs to be placed in a dog airline kennel or cardboard box that is big enough for it to stand up (maybe even tall enough for it to raise its head) and turn around. Twins and triplets should be kept together as they comfort each other. Do not place the fawn in a wire dog kennel or wire fenced yard as they can easily entangle a delicate leg and break it.

DO NOT FEED OR WATER THE ANIMAL! Great harm can come to an animal that is fed the wrong food, at the wrong time or in the wrong way.

The WR&E Wildlife Center stands ready willing and able to care for any native Texas wild animal that is sick, injured or orphaned. Once it has been determined that an animal needs care, please get it to the Wildlife Center as soon as possible. If you have questions, call the Wildlife Center at 713-861-9453 for advice.

The other physical attribute that jumped out at volunteers was the size and orientation of the front legs. Place the top of each hand against the other – that’s the permanent orientation of the mole’s front legs. This is great for digging laterally, but not that great for walking. In addition, the front paws are two to three times larger than the back and are tipped in humongous (a very technical term!) claws. Each paw looks like a little excavator bucket. Yet, the skin on the pads is as moist and soft as a baby’s.

The volunteer that held the moles for a couple of quick pictures and a brief health exam noted that they constantly nibbled her skin, tasting as much as smelling as they quickly moved back and forth. The claws felt sharp, but didn’t prick like arboreal species like squirrels which have claws that are tipped with tiny barbs.  

Most moles live underground, but some feed above ground and others are semi-aquatic. The favorite meals are invertebrates, especially earthworms. Moles have a paralyzing or sedating component in their saliva that immobilizes earthworms which they can store in a “larder” for future consumption.

There is usually no external indication of ears and the eyes are very small and often covered in skin or fur. For all intents and purposes they are blind although they can tell light from dark. These adaptations probably occurred because exposed eyes and ears became infected, lending reproduction advantage to those animals that weren’t always battling a low grade or full blown infection.  

Making a mountain out of a molehill. While not usually a worrisome pest in this area, some mistakenly believe that moles are eating the roots of garden plants. The moles do disturb the ground as they pursue their prey which may inadvertently kill plants or grass. The moles don’t need an eviction notice, homeowners need to rake out mole hills as they form leaving the subterranean habitat intact. That way the whole ecosystem that depends on these subterranean tunnels will remain intact.  

These two moles will be observed for a couple of days while the Wildlife Center finds a release site where moles already exist. That way, it is known in advance that the site has everything necessary to support their needs.

The Garter Snake has a distribution that is the largest of any reptile in North America. They range from Canada to Central America. There are so many sub-species and color variations within species that it would be difficult to describe, except that they all have 3 racing stripes that run from the neck to the tail. The body runs the gamut of colors from almost black through tan and olive through bright green. Some have spots between the stripes and others look like checkerboards. The racing stripes are usually a shade of yellow, but others have orange or red stripes. They are a wonderful addition to any yard or garden.

Originally thought to be non-venomous, it turns out that Garter Snakes do in fact possess this chemical weapon. The venom is very weak and not toxic unless you are toad or lizard. The reason they were thought to be non-venomous is that they don’t have fangs and the reaction of humans or their companion animals to a bite is mild redness and maybe an itching sensation. The venom is delivered by two “teeth” located in the very back of the mouth. Garter Snakes don’t strike prey; they have to “chew” on it to deliver the venom. Again this is not an issue if you aren’t a toad or lizard.

Garter Snakes communicate with each other via pheromones. They lay down a scent trail wherever they go – which is helpful if you are a male snake looking for a mate. But some males have an interesting adaptation – they possess both male and female pheromones. This causes other males to waste energy chasing a “she-male” instead of successfully mating with a female. What a dirty trick!