Greetings all,
Although this is'nt a cryptid animal, it is a rare one. I just got back from the Talladega mountains in Alabama and put out 5 game cams whilst there. I got deer, crows, a few gray foxes as well. Upon checking my cams I was absolutlely delighted to discover this rare fella...a Black, melanistic phase coyote. This is the 2nd one I get in 3 years. figured some of you might enjoy and appreciate this photo of this rare catch. Enjoy. ArklatexClick to view attachment

Nice.

Seeing a black yote in the wild is on my bucket list. I've already crossed off black fox and black cat.

Very cool!

Thanks Redwolf. Bitter, black fox and..black cat??? On cams? Wow. I'm envious! Arklatex

No, I was fortunate enough to see them with my own eyes. I really enjoy running camera traps and seeing others photos but if I have my choice I want to see them live and in real time, and that's how I'd like to see my first black yote.

I have seen a nearly black fox near my home. I didn't see it long enough to determine if it was a melanistic phase of a red fox or a gray fox. It's legs were very dark so I was leaning towards red fox. I have been hoping to catch it on my game cam, but no luck so far.

I also saw a black mule deer while bowhunting in Eastern OR.

Black deer. That's another one on my list, along with the blond black bear.

If you ever get the NW, try the Salmon Trinity Alps in N. Cal. Hubby has seen quite a few blond bears there.

Nice picture arklatex. Thanks for sharing!

Nice pic Arklatex, You might want to share more of your pics here http://www.bigfootforums.com/index.php?sho...7401&st=132 , I know you have plenty.

SY.

Thanks for the photo, I didnt even no coyotes could be melanistic. I've seen litteraly thousands of em, but not a black one yet.

I have seen black deer and blonde black bear. The coolest black bear I've seen had cinnamon front legs, shoulders, and head. The back legs and rump were cinnamon also but, it was blonde in the middle. I thought what a beautifull rug that would be, and when bear season opened I looked for that bear for two months and never found it again.

Pretty cool picture.

Thanks, George. Glad you liked it New Mex . Your welcome Jaylee D. And SouthernYahoo, I'm puting together with Cybersquatch a page of all my pics. Arklatex

that is a really neat shot Arklatex. This is the only melanistic phase animal I have encountered in the wild. Western MA has thick pockets of them. Go twenty miles east, and you won't see one in your lifetime. These guys are also much, much bigger than their grey cousins. The dreaded Black Eastern Grey Squirrel is also carnivorous. That's actually a human femur in it's mouth ...

Thanks, Cryptidon. It was pure luck really. That Coyote was comin in smellin the sesoned beef tips I threw out due to a failed Philly Cheezesteak I tried. A gray fox beat the coyote to it. Thats a great pic you got there of the Black phase squirrel. I was just telling Bitter Monk that I finally saw one runnin down the road last year. A Black Phase Fox squirrel right? Human femur??? Arklatex

Fascinating photo, ArkLaTex.

We've a few black fox squirrels in our neighborhood. I've also seen an albino whitetail deer, but no other oddities.

Why Thank you. Black squirrels huh, thats pretty cool. There used to be some Blonde squirrels in the park near my house. Love to get an albino or even a piebald deer on my camz. Arklatex

I wish you wouldnt have brought up albino deer, that sturred up some memory's.


Back when I was a kid in Alabama (I settled in New Mexico when I got out of the service when I was still in my twentys) we would occaisonally see white deer but, they were not albino's. They had brown eyes. I never persanlly shot one and usually when I would see one while hunting it was like "WHAT THE F**K". I saw one once that had a normal whitetail head but, from the shoulders back it was white with black spots. That one was a fawn and feeding with it's mother, the doe (mother) was a normal whitetail. I didnt shoot because they were not legal.

I've also seen and touched two that have been shot. One was a young doe that was all white with black spots, it was shot out of season by a guy that was amazed at what he was looking at in the head lights, so he capped it, threw it in the truck and called some of his buddy's to come and see it. The other was a legally killed buck during hunting season. This one had a small six point rack, looked like a normal whitetail all the way to the rump. It's rump was white with black spots. It reminded me of an appalousa horse.

Oh, let me clarify. When I say black spots, I'm not talking the small spots that fawns have. The black spots were fairly large, three to four inches across, not diameter.

The story I was told back then to explain these deer was, a dude that was a large land owner back in the late 1880's (decendent of a carpet bagger) had the property fenced off and posted. He imported some exotic species of deer that were white. After he died, and the property and fences went down the tubes, his deer escaped and then bread with the normal whitetail population. This is just what I was told. I've seen and touched those deer, I know they were still there when I left for the service.

I all ready know some of the couch potatos on this fourm are gonna jump on this like ugly on a ape and stink on a dog but like Bf, I know what I saw and I know what I touched.

I saw and touched these unique animals in Sumter County, Alabama. (ROLL TIDE ROLL!!!).

With over 11,000 members on this forum there's gotta be someone here from that area. Those deer were common knowledge when I left and I know hunting has changed big time since those days. But, somebody please tell me you are still seeing those (we yousta callem piebalds). I hope that blood line hasent all been killed off, they were somethng to see but stuck out like a sore thumb.

Thanks again Incorrigible1 for the waking up the member banks.

Getting old sucks, hum I should make that my signature on posts!

Cool picture.

Another is a melanistic Ringed Neck Pheasant.

Black squirrels are taking over my neighbourhood!

Seriously they have to be about 70% black in the city here, and areas surrounding its 50/50 ish, have to go quite a few miles until they're all grey again.

NewMexRog, I don't doubt you for one minute on the black and white deer. My brother killed a doe back in the late 90's in N. Louisiana that was tan like a regular deer but had black/dark brown spots all over it except for it's head. He also killed a young buck a couple of years after the doe that was solid white with the darker spots on it's back and belly. Both these deer had regular looking brown deer eyes. He had both these hides tanned and they hung on the walls of his den until he lost everything in a house fire.

I've only seen 2 white or blond squirrels, and one black squirrel while in the woods. I thought I was seeing a black coyote one day but it turned out to be a black German shepherd dog.

Thats pretty cool. I've never heard of deer having black spots. I know piebald deer are white and brown patches. Back to the blonde squirrels, they were always confined to one section of this park I goto. I'm gonna go do some reconnaissance to try and get some pics of them...if they're still there. Arklatex

That's a cool looking pooch..

NewmexRog,

Sounds like you are describing a piebald, or hypomelanistic population?

Google piebald deer and take a look at some of those images.

What kind of cat are we talking about? I've seen pictures of black bobcats. Is that what you are referencing?

Tim

Well ya learn something new every day. I have seen two blond bears in my lifetime.

Arklatex, that's a great photo you caught of the black coyote. Thanks for posting it for us.

In the wild I've seen a black fox, black bobcat and big black cat (jaguar)

I like that pic of the black squirrel too, havent' seen one of those yet.

Black Bobcat???? Man, how cool is that?? Never heard of that before. You're up there with Bitter Monk, He's seen a black fox and cat too. You're a lucky man ! Arklatex

I should clarify- I meant seen PICTURES:). I don't get out in the woods much these days- I have too much going on. That will change in April though.

The second poster in the thread mentioned a black "cat" but didn't clarify the species. Does anyone know?

Tim B.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iY9gtdBIsrs...feature=related

Strange

more....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6EDqpAA4q8...feature=related

Can fallow deer interbreed with whitetails?

Tim B.

He was responding to me Tim, I've seen a black bobcat in the wild.

We had an albino skunk family living near our apartments in Nashua, NH when we lived there several years ago. I saw one walk past my sliding glass door, and I thought it was a cat (it was that HUGE). When I opened the door to get a closer look, it growled at me... took me a moment to digest that - cats don't growl - that is therefore, not a cat - holy cow its a HUGE skunk - yikes! They apparently ate well because of the dumpster in our complex....

Thanks cryptidon and JayleeD!

All these years I thought it was local thing. I guess the story the old timers told me when I was a kid was just B.S. The old timers in that neck of the woods where famous for telling the young guys a tall tail or two. Especially after they had passed the jug around a few times.

Did they ever take your snipe hunting? A nighttime activity, and a quite odd creature, the snipe.

No, I was already wise to that one. But, I took a few people on snipe hunts over the years!