Tennessee hunter spots 12-point albino buck

[Ronald_55]

 

Hard to tell from the video if this is an albino, Leucism (loss of pigment but normal eyes), or another type of deer that escaped from a preserve. She says it had a pink nose and eyes, but I can't tell from the video.

 

https://www.foxnews.com/great-outdoors/tennessee-hunter-spots-12-point-albino-buck-in-rare-sighting-it-was-like-seeing-a-ghost

 

A hunter in Tennessee said she had a “once-in-a-lifetime experience” after spotting a rare albino buck last week.

Amy Henderson Hall shared a video and photos of the 12-point buck on Facebook, writing the animal “walked right underneath me and hung out with me for 30 minutes.”

“I teared up and was totally amazed,” she said.

Hall told Fox News Tuesday she spotted the buck while hunting on her friend’s property in Williamson County.

“It was a very eerie, ghostly feeling,” she said of the animal, adding it was her first time seeing an albino deer. “It took my breath away.”

White deer are “extremely rare,” according to the website ProtectTheWhiteDeer.com, which is run by a group in Wisconsin that aims to protect the animals. The snowy color is a genetic trait that's inherited, according to the group.

Hall said the buck she saw was a “true albino,” meaning it had a pink nose and eyes, a “result of blood vessels showing through the skin and clear lens of the eyes,” ProtectTheWhiteDeer.com reported.

The site reported only one in an estimated 20,000 deer are born with the condition.

Hall, who said she hunts deer to feed her family, hopes her experience will serve as a reminder to those in Tennessee that hunting albino deer is illegal.

Following Hall’s sighting, the state’s wildlife resource agency reminded residents that albino deer are both rare and “illegal to harvest" in the state.

Other states, such as Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin, also have laws protecting white deer, according to the online animal rights publication The Dodo.

Hall said she watched the buck for roughly 30 minutes as it grazed and rubbed its antlers on a tree.

“It enjoyed the space, nothing ever bothered it,” she said. "This experience was amazing; it was like seeing a ghost."

[Omega]

That is cool, but I think she made a mistake posting it.  Now there will be some out there trying to illegally harvest him.

[KahrMan]

There are quite a few albino deer in middle TN.  I would think they are safer than most deer from poaching.  A normal buck you can display and there is no way to know if it was poached or not.  Can not say that about an albino.

 

[Capbyrd]

2 minutes ago, KahrMan said:

There are quite a few albino deer in middle TN.  I would think they are safer than most deer from poaching.  A normal buck you can display and there is no way to know if it was poached or not.  Can not say that about an albino.

  

Why not?  Yeah I took it.   In such and such state where its legal.  

 

[KahrMan]

Don't think you can legally posses one in TN just for that reason.

 

Edited December 18, 2018 by KahrMan

[Capbyrd]

21 minutes ago, KahrMan said:

Don't think you can legally posses one in TN just for that reason.

 

Definitely possible. 

 

[peejman]

2 hours ago, KahrMan said:

Don't think you can legally posses one in TN just for that reason.

 

Hunting, trapping or possession of albino deer is prohibited as set forth in TCA 70-4-130. An albino deer is a deer with a lack, or significant deficiency, of pigment in the skin and hair, and has pink eyes

 

https://www.tn.gov/twra/hunting/big-game/deer.html

[Omega]

You guys underestimate some people, many have been caught because they posted known illegal harvests.  For some it's their own personal knowledge that they harvested one, who knows why.

[gregintenn]

2 hours ago, peejman said:

Hunting, trapping or possession of albino deer is prohibited as set forth in TCA 70-4-130. An albino deer is a deer with a lack, or significant deficiency, of pigment in the skin and hair, and has pink eyes

 

https://www.tn.gov/twra/hunting/big-game/deer.html

News to me, and I've been deer hunting since I was big enough.

[Jeb48]

In a the southern tier of western NY is a closed/repurposed military base that has had a huge area completely fenced since WW-2 days. The dear that were on the base when it was fenced had some white traits and with a limited beading heard, they now have a fairly large number of white deer on the base. A lot of times one or more can be spotted when you drive by. 

[jhc77]

I saw one in southern Williamson Co about 11 or 12 years ago on the way to work one morning. Called TWRA to see if they existed around here. She was definitely interested in where I saw it. 

[KahrMan]

There are quite a few in Williamson County. It is not uncommon to see them when walking at Crockett Park. 

[Grand Torino]

I've seen two albino deer...both does though. One about 12 years ago in rural Williamson County and one not far from my house in southern Maury County a couple years back. Both majestic looking in their own way. I watched them for what seemed hours.

[bersaguy]

I saw a spike Albino back many years ago on our farm when I first moved down here in 67. I use to see them all the time up in Illinois while growing up hunting small game. Back when I was a kid Illinois didn't have a deer season and there were a lot of white deer on Government land surrounding the Argonne National Labratory. My buddy and I would hunt Rabbits and Pheasants on the property and see the deer.

[KahrMan]

Here is a buck from Brentwood back before cell phones had good cameras.

[bersaguy]

7 minutes ago, KahrMan said:

Here is a buck from Brentwood back before cell phones had good cameras.

I think thats a great picture for an older camera. Beautiful Buck for sure. I cannot understand how anyone could even think about shooting such a Majestic Creature!!!

[Capbyrd]

21 minutes ago, bersaguy said:

I think thats a great picture for an older camera. Beautiful Buck for sure. I cannot understand how anyone could even think about shooting such a Majestic Creature!!!

Because he probably tastes good? 

[Ronald_55]

7 minutes ago, Capbyrd said:

Because he probably tastes good? 

ALL WHITE MEAT!

But he might be a bit bland....

[FrankD]

On 12/18/2018 at 9:13 PM, KahrMan said:

There are quite a few in Williamson County. It is not uncommon to see them when walking at Crockett Park. 

I was going to reference that exact location.  I see them a couple times a year going down wilson pike in the morning standing in the field right next to the walking path.