Escaping The Nutshell

We've seen lots of deer in the foothills, but never before a white deer until today.

2013-02-23 White Deer off Antelope Trail at Hall Ranch

Stefan got a great shot of this deer. You can see a normal colored deer on the right side of the picture.

A white deer or white stag appears in the mythology of widely separated cultures.

• There is a Chickasaw Indian story: Ghost of the White Deer.
• Celtic people thought they were messengers from the otherworld.
• Arthurian legend said it indicated a time for knights to begin a quest.
• Hungarian mythology has a story about a white stag.
• More on this here.

When the Seneca Army Depot of upstate New York was established in 1941, the U.S. Army fenced off 10,000 acres with a 12 foot high fence. They didn't realize that a herd of deer, some of which were white, had also been enclosed. The enclosed herd grew much larger over the years and so did the number of white deers there. It's known that the occasional white deer, as well as other white animals, are caused by a recessive gene. More here.

We're hoping seeing this unique animal today meant good luck.