from my website http://www.nyantler-outdoors.com/piebald-deer.html
Melanistic whitetails are very rare, even more rare than piebald or albino deer. Melanistic deer produce far too much of the pigment known as melanin which makes them much darker than your average whitetail, in fact almost black. But, by no means are all deer with melanistic traits totally black. They can be a wide range of shades, with some being quite black to others being more of a dirty brown or dark gray color.
Of the millions of deer taken each year only a few with melanism have been reported. They are so rare that most hunters don't even know they exist , making a melonistic buck a true trophy.