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Trophy Photos From Our Readers
Jeff Creamer, Ohio
 Jeff Creamer, who lives in the Coolville area of Athens, Ohio, took this most unusual trail camera photo last January at one of his feeders. No, it's not a small horse or a deer from another planet. It's a mature whitetail doe with a distinct mane much like that of a horse.
"How unusual is this?" Jeff asks.
"Actually it's not that unusual at all to see a whitetail with a mane," says Dr. James Kroll, North American Whitetail's resident biologist and whitetail expert. "It occurs in many parts of the country. I annually see hundreds of deer and find that about 1 to 2 percent have manes. Presumably this is is a genetic throwback to the whitetail's ancestors. Although the historic record remains unclear as to the exact ancestors of whitetails, the tropical forest dwelling creature that preceded the whitetail could easily have had a mane. However, since hair does not preserve well, we will likely never know."
Our thanks to Jeff for sending in this great photo!
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