Posted on 11/20/2011 5:26:58 PM PST by afraidfortherepublic
Amy Mattson of Mequon was driving south of Port Washington earlier this month when she spied an all-white buck standing in a field.
The nose of the 6-point buck appears to be pink in the photos that she and a friend shot.
A pink nose and presumably pink eyes - a deer bereft of any color - means the two appeared to be observing a rare albino deer, according to the state Department of Natural Resources.
"It was very pretty," Mattson said Saturday, the first day of Wisconsin's traditional nine-day gun season.
In the dim light of late afternoon, "it almost looked like an angel or something," she recalled.
"I can't imagine why anyone would want to shoot it."
In fact, albino deer, and another type of white deer with a black nose and colored eyes, can't be shot, according Davin Lopez, a DNR biologist.
The exception is in the state's chronic wasting disease zones, where the DNR wants to reduce deer populations.
Lopez said that albino deer are the rarer of the two, but both are uncommon.
A story in Outdoor Life last year by writer Travis Faulkner says the chances of an albino deer born in the wild is 1 in 20,000.
Faulkner said these "mystical ghosts of the woods" were even documented in journal entries by European explorers in present-day Wisconsin.
White deer are sometimes known to live in pockets, since the genetic trait is passed down.
The closest such pocket in metropolitan Milwaukee is in the Dousman area, Lopez said. Faulkner describes a large group living near Boulder Junction, which has been chronicled in a book, "White Deer: Ghosts of the Forest."
On Nov. 14, Mattson was with her sister, Emily Mueller, 13, of Grafton.
They were returning from a Big Brothers/Big Sisters holiday party in Port Washington when the pair spied the white buck on Sauk Road near the intersection of Highway 32, on the border of Port Washington and the Town of Grafton.
Mueller took a picture with Mattson's camera from the car. Then, Mattson, 27, a nurse, shot more photos outside of the car.
The deer appeared to be almost tame, she said. She whistled once. Like a pet dog, it looked up.
Lopez said the DNR hasn't had any significant problem with poachers shooting the deer as a trophy.
As for the deer, the white coat isn't necessarily a blessing. It leaves them more vulnerable to predation, especially as a fawn, because it can't blend in to its surroundings.
Years ago there was a study done. Twenty bucks were placed in a high fenced 10 acre brushy treed up plot of land. And some of the bucks had bright colored ribbons tied onto their antlers.
They placed a few hunters in there...some very experienced, some not so much.
The results were interesting....Deer can hide, like you wouldn't believe.
Now, granted...a white one might have a disadvantage. But, snow geese don't seem to have a problem being pure white.
FWIW_
I would hope that would be everyone’e reaction. Apparantly, not so, if we ae to judge by the responses on this thread. Thank you. There ae some things that just should be left alone.
Agree,
Nope. We use pig casings.
Just how is that hopey-changey bullshit working out for ya?
[Desperately wishing for some friggin’ snow, man!]
I could NEVER shoot this deer, period. If he’s made it this far, more people would have thought like I than you.
Take your ‘old age’ thought and transfer it to you. How would you vote then?
Dude or dudette, quit trying to humanize an animal. Deer were meant for eatin.That deer is in its prime, will starve to death in a few years. What difference does it make if he’s beown or white, it’s still a damn deer.
Magnificent animal. Thank you for sharing. Hope he makes it into winter alright.
May God guide our course.
Tatt
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