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All-white 6-point buck spotted near Port Washington
JS Online ^ | 11-20-11 | Lee Bergquist

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.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Government; News/Current Events; US: Wisconsin
KEYWORDS: deer; endangered; nature; wildlife
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Photo courtesy of Amy Mattson

Amy Mattson spotted this all-white whitetail deer near Grafton last weekend. A pink nose and presumably pink eyes - a deer bereft of any color - means the she appeared to be observing a rare albino deer.

1 posted on 11/20/2011 5:27:00 PM PST by afraidfortherepublic
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To: Diana in Wisconsin; SJackson

Isn’t he beautiful?


2 posted on 11/20/2011 5:28:02 PM PST by afraidfortherepublic
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To: All

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3 posted on 11/20/2011 5:28:50 PM PST by musicman (Until I see the REAL Long Form Vault BC, he's just "PRES__ENT" Obama = Without "ID")
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To: afraidfortherepublic

Absolutely beautiful. Thanks for sharing.


4 posted on 11/20/2011 5:29:18 PM PST by Faith
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To: afraidfortherepublic

Wow. Beautiful.


5 posted on 11/20/2011 5:30:57 PM PST by GOP Poet (Obama is an OLYMPIC failure.)
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To: afraidfortherepublic
I'll bet he'll be tasty too.

Heading up tomorrow.

6 posted on 11/20/2011 5:31:17 PM PST by usconservative (When The Ballot Box No Longer Counts, The Ammunition Box Does. (What's In Your Ammo Box?))
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To: Pride in the USA; Stillwaters

That’s a beautiful animal.


7 posted on 11/20/2011 5:31:50 PM PST by lonevoice (Klepto Baracka Marxo, impeach we much. We will much about that be committed.)
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To: afraidfortherepublic

Sure would make things a lot easier if someone could genetically engineer them to be hunter orange.


8 posted on 11/20/2011 5:31:50 PM PST by cripplecreek (Stand with courage or shut up and do as you're told.)
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To: usconservative

There’s going to be a huge tally of deer taken in Michigan this year.


9 posted on 11/20/2011 5:33:24 PM PST by cripplecreek (Stand with courage or shut up and do as you're told.)
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To: afraidfortherepublic

Hopefully some assh*le with a high powered rifle won’t kill it.


10 posted on 11/20/2011 5:33:35 PM PST by BenLurkin (This is not a statement of fact. It is either opinion or satire; or both)
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To: afraidfortherepublic

Rare indeed.I was fortunate to see an albino racon once when I was younger but to see this beautiful animal would have been something unreal.Thanks for posting.


11 posted on 11/20/2011 5:38:50 PM PST by HANG THE EXPENSE (Life is tough.It's tougher when you're stupid.)
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To: Faith

Albino deer are protected but what about ginger deer?


12 posted on 11/20/2011 5:39:20 PM PST by kaboom
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To: afraidfortherepublic

probably tastes like chicken.


13 posted on 11/20/2011 5:39:46 PM PST by umgud
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To: afraidfortherepublic

It does appear to be a true albino.
How often does that occur in deer?


14 posted on 11/20/2011 5:41:00 PM PST by AlexW
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To: afraidfortherepublic

That’s racist. I demand an equal number of Black deer.


15 posted on 11/20/2011 5:41:30 PM PST by PAR35
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To: usconservative

I want the back strap.


16 posted on 11/20/2011 5:41:54 PM PST by MrEdd (Heck? Geewhiz Cripes, thats the place where people who don't believe in Gosh think they aint going.)
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To: afraidfortherepublic

Isn’t that from one of the Harry Potter movies? :)


17 posted on 11/20/2011 5:42:34 PM PST by freedumb2003 (Herman Cain 2012 -- the man we need at the time we need him)
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To: BenLurkin

Yeah, so nice of the writer to practically post the buck’s GPS coordinates. A more vague location would have served just fine.


18 posted on 11/20/2011 5:43:42 PM PST by Charles Martel (Endeavor to persevere...)
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To: usconservative

“I can’t imagine why anyone would want to shoot it.” Most of those who have killed a white deer die within the next year! Killing the white deer is just something you don’t do!


19 posted on 11/20/2011 5:44:10 PM PST by WellyP (REAL)
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To: cripplecreek
Sure would make things a lot easier if someone could genetically engineer them to be hunter orange.


20 posted on 11/20/2011 5:44:42 PM PST by freedumb2003 (Herman Cain 2012 -- the man we need at the time we need him)
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