‘Cow’ Spotted In Pleasantville Was Likely Rare Deer

Photos taken by local residents suggest what was believed to have been a baby cow seen on Broadway last month was, in fact, a deer. Specifically, a piebald deer, referring to a genetic condition that causes partial loss of pigmentation in animals. 

Pleasantville resident Amanda Gleason said she saw an animal in her yard matching the description of the “baby cow.” She posted photos of the animal on the Facebook page 10570 411.

Pleasantville resident Robert Oltra also sent us photos of what looked to be the same animal in the woods behind his house.

Piebald deer are rare. According to the National Deer Association, the condition occurs in less than 1 percent of white-tailed deer. An article on the Association’s website suggests deer with the condition also sometimes have physical deformities including a “shortened face and a humped nose,” which may explain why they can be mistaken for cows.

Jim Eyring, the retired Assistant Director of the Environmental Center at Pace University, confirmed the photos taken by Gleason and Oltra appeared to show a piebald deer. He said he had seen piebald deer years ago on the Pace campus.

“In the 40 years that I’ve been down there, I’ve only ran into them three times. Them happening is a freak of nature,” he said.

“The scientific term would be leucistic. It’s like a partial albino. They’re definite oddballs.”

The animal spotted on Broadway could also be called something else: a skewbald deer. That’s according to New York Conservationist magazine, which is published by the state Department of Environmental Conservation. The magazine’s October 2009 issue included a photo of 16-year-old hunter Mitch Hooker of Otsego County with his first white-tailed deer, whose coat had splotches of brown and white. Assistant Editor Eileen Stegeman wrote in that issue:

Congratulations to Mitch on his distinctive buck. Piebaldism is an uncommon genetic variation in white-tailed deer that causes the normally uniform brown parts of a deer’s coat to be mottled with white, similar to a pinto pony. Though often used interchangeably, the term piebald usually refers to black and white coloration; skewbald refers to white and non-black colorations.

Whatever you call it, the “baby cow” mystery seems to be solved. Noelle Nicolai, who originally posted about the animal on Facebook, confirmed that Gleason’s photos appeared to match what she saw. “Yesssss!!!!! THATS THE BABY COW,” Nicolai responded to Gleason’s post.

“We need a name for him! My vote is ‘baby cow.’”

To read this article on Pleasantville Press, the Pace student reporter website, click here.