Albino deer ?

[Pat]

"That doesn't make me a bad person does it?"

No, it was all the chickens that you have been strafing lately.

[img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[EddieWalker]

The deer are called "Fallow Deer" and are native to most of Europe. George Washington was one of th first to bring some over. They are a very common deer hunted throughout Europe with the Eastern Block countries having the reputaion for the best hunting.

They come in three color phases. White, as in the photo's, spotted, similar to a whitetail fawn or axis deer with a sandy colored coat and white spots, and black or chocolate, depending on what part of the world you live in. All three color phases are perfectly normal, but for some reason the white ones tend to average larger antlers for trophy scoring.

In Texas you can buy them at auction from $100 to $200 for a one to two year old buck or an exposed doe with decent blood lines. Of course, auction prices vary. Trophy fee for a mature buck on most ranches will run from $1,000 to $1,500.

There is nothing unique or special about fallow deer, they are just a different species of deer. The face is different and not interchangable for taxidermy purposes.

A good buck will weigh around 250 pounds. I've seen them in California around Willits and down south on Hurst Castle. In Texas they are so common in areas from escaping ranches over the years that they are practically native.

They are not major fence jumpers and if left unmolested, will remain behind a 4 foot fence. They usually escape when a fence is damaged by weather or falling trees. They are also considered quite docile and adaptible.

The only one I've ever killed was in New Zealand. I chose to shoot a chocolate one, but saw plenty of white and spotted ones.

They are pretty and fun to watch.