ABOVE: Mason Rudolph with a rare Piebald deer he shot last week near Welcome. Submitted photo.

WELCOME – While checking cameras on his grandfather’s land, 19-year-old Mason Rudolph made the discovery of a lifetime.

A fully-grown buck Piebald deer appeared on a hunting camera. This variation results from a rare recessive genetic mutation, where some of the skin lacks pigment cells necessary to give deer hair color. According to the Southeast Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study, the mutation affects less than one percent of all white-tailed deer.

“No one in my family had ever seen one before, no one in the area either,” Rudolph said. “It wasn’t a super young deer either, it just showed up.”

After looking them up online, he said they looked different from many Piebalds he found.

“It was pretty bright,” Rudolph said. “The interesting part is some piebalds have patches like cows, this one had big white spots but also blended and faded in with the brown. It wasn’t patches, it was mixed up together.”

The morning after discovering the deer, Rudolph climbed into his stand and waited. At 8 p.m., the deer reappeared. Rudolph said he immediately recognized it from the camera footage and took his shot. The deer scampered away, and after searching for eight hours was found dead around 3:30 p.m.

“Everybody was pretty excited,” he said. “It ended up being a long day. The deer ran over 600 yards.”

After conversations with his family, Rudolph said he plans to do a full mount.

“I wasn’t sure about doing it at first, but everyone convinced me,” he said. “It ranges from $1,000 to $4,000. It’s worth it though.”

Rudolph said he has become somewhat popular in the last few days. A representative from the Minnesota Deer and Turkey Classic asked if he would be willing to showcase the mount at next year’s show at Canterbury Park. Rudolph said he would be bringing the mount there for viewing.

The Minnesota DNR also contacted Rudolph, indicating his find might be more rare than initially thought.

“Many of the Piebald deer found in Minnesota are usually does or small bucks,” he said. “The DNR is looking into it, because it may be the largest Piebald ever shot in Minnesota. We’re not sure on that yet.”

Outside of all the new attention, Rudolph said it also showed him how close he and his family are.

“It’s fun to have everyone here for me and helping me out,” he said.