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.
I agree with Charles that the deer’s location should’ve remained secret.
Now every Tom, Dick n’Harry in Ozaukee County is going to be up there looking for him.
Maybe he’s hiding out at St. Vinnie’s.
Let’s name him.
I see that white deer, it's going down.
We have an albino doe that has been on our property for years. Shooting albinos is bad juju.
It's a patronus!
Maybe in lower Michigan, I go to the Western UP, about 70 miles North of Marinette/Menominee on Highway 41. 120 acres near Hwy. 41 and US 2 in the middle of absolutely nowhere.
The last few years have been really bad, saw some fawns, and that was about it. Heard today we have a few large 8+ point bucks wandering around the property, so who knows. Maybe this year will be good.
I fully expected being the first one to post a snarky comment about that buck being tasty to get attacked by a bunch of "don't kill Bambi!" animal rights whacko's on here, so imagine my surprise at your post that you want the back strap!
Ha! Fight ya for it. ;-)
I turn 50 next year. That's close enough to death for me.
Just waiting on the next ice age.
now there's something i hadn't considered, and the way things are going...
“BTW: you need to replace your signs. ;-) “
___________________________________________
No longer my problem.
I sold my last farm in the late 90s.
I am now retired in the Philippines.
Years ago, I was in the woods with a boyfriend, walking near National Argonne Laboratory, located about 25 miles southwest of Chicago, IL. Argonne is surrounded by Waterfall Glenn Preserve, and it’s campus is lovely. They have for years, perhaps from its inception, had a herd of white deer that roam these woods. We sat down on a log in the woods, resting, and a few of these deer came close to us, they were surprisingly tame, and beautiful. Quite the experience. Another lab, Fermi Lab, is also close to where I live in the western suburbs of Chicago, and it has always had quite a large herd of bison on its campus.
It has always made me wonder why these Labs have these herds of more exotic animals on their grounds. My worst case scenario is that if there are any radiation leaks, they would know by the herds’ demise. Now, I know that is far fetched, however, .....
Me too. But I'd feel bad about it later. Later, as in after supper.
obviouslly a wonderfully memorable experience the depot where they live here had been a nuclear weapons storage facility for a while and some lesbians had an antiwar encampment next to it that claimed they were white from the radiation... they simple weren't smart enough to know the deer were here decades before there were any nukes on base
“Albino deer are protected but what about ginger deer?”
Ginger Deer is $37 at the China Moon restaurant.
WE called them “Ghost Deer” where I grew up in the north woods.
One did not ‘advertise’ where one was seen. Most hunters will not shoot a ghost deer, not only because it’s illegal, but it’s considered bad luck.
I had a big buck that would go through my woods down here - I haven’t seen him for a few years. Deer population here is WAY down due to coyotes. Those I hear running though my woods at night, in packs, running deer. I hate to hear it.
Wow, there is one picture of a buck with gorgeous white antlers that is just incredible to me. There is another with white antlers with pink on the tips that reminds me of fingers.
Fantastic video, thanks for sharing.
Wow, there is one picture of a buck with gorgeous white antlers that is just incredible to me. There is another with white antlers with pink on the tips that reminds me of fingers.
Fantastic video, thanks for sharing.
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