A university student was out on a fishing trip with her dad when they saw three deer emerge from the woods. Not the most uncommon occurrence, but there was something unique about this encounter.
19-year-old Esha Patel said two were brown and one was “dazzling white,” and described the experience as “breathtaking.”
“The white one came so close—less than ten feet away! It was beautiful and so cute,” said the University of Cardiff student.
According to wildlife sources, the chances of seeing this white morph in the UK are extremely rare.
“After I saw the deer I read that the chances of spotting them are around one in 30,000. Apparently it’s really good luck to see them so I was going to buy a lottery ticket,” she added.
“We have never seen one before and my dad was like, ‘Are you sure it was a deer and not a goat?'”
Looking at the images you can understand her dad’s sentiments. The deer had what is known as “leucism,” which is a recessive genetic trait that differs from albino animals, but that is also present in theoretically all animal species. Leucism is the lack of pigment cells across most of the body, in contrast to albinos which are totally white and have pink eyes.
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White animals tend not to survive long in the wild since the coloration ruins their camouflage, but because white-tail, roe, fallow, and mule deer are hunted in many parts of the UK and US almost exclusively by humans, there are likely more leucistic deer around than ever before, since not many humans hunt, and those that do commonly will let a white white-tail go on its way, according to the Nature Conservancy.
The exact location of the deer will not be identified in order to ensure the safety of the rare creature.
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