A rare white stag has been observed on the west coast of the Highlands. The animal has been seen with other red deer by a member of the John Muir Trust, which has kept its location a secret to protect it from poachers. The killing of a white stag on the Devon and Cornwall border last year sparked outrage. Fran Lockhart, partnership manager for the trust, caught the young Highland deer on camera. She described it as "ghost-like". She said: "I am thrilled to know that there is a white stag roaming free out there in the Scottish Highlands and that I was privileged enough to be able to spend an hour observing him. "We will be watching this animal with interest, particularly as he will be reaching his full potential in the next couple of years." The trust said white deer were potent figures in the mythology of many cultures. Celts considered them to be messengers from the otherworld. They are closely identified with unicorns and their appearance is said to herald some profound change in the lives of those who encounter them. Found headless: White deer are often mistakenly thought to be albinos.

The trust said their unusual appearance was caused by leucism, a rare genetic pattern that causes a reduction in the pigment in the animal's hair and skin. Unlike albinos who characteristically have red eyes, deer with leucism have normal colouring in their eyes. The stag killed in England last year was found headless after being shot by a poacher.

View: Full Article | Source: BBC News

[size="6"][/size][font="Impact"][/font][color="#800080"][/color] Ooooooooooooo Preeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeetty!

LOL, that picture has been adjusted. I wonder what the real shade of white is?

white deer are absolutely wonderful to behold. We have a small herd (40 animals or so) of them here on the work site (fenced off from the forest preserve around)

and this is their natural color. White, but not ghostly so:

A beautiful creature! Sadly it can't camouflage with its environment.

Most likely among the first eaten by predators such as wolves, because it stands out more than others and has nowhere to hide.

Oh Harry must be around....I mean that's pretty.

Very true. It's no different than zebras. A newborn flops out of its mother's womb and already needs to run away from lions, hyenas, vultures, and so on. Doesn't have time learning to crawl or walk. Rough scene.

True, but in winter when it snows and predators are more likely to be hungrier, these guys would have the advantage !

Good point! It would do well in winter season.

I don't think that image has been tinkered with actually. Its a screenshot from a video on the article and theres only a few frames where it looks bright like that. Looks to be light reflecting.

Aww, so pretty. . . I wonder if the other stags are jealous, lol.

So is the only difference between albino stags and white stags is that albinos have red eyes and white stags have normal coloured eyes? I think i took a picture of a white stag too, and from what i can see it has beigey green coloured eyes. Ill post a picture soon if this is correct.

LMAO~! Awesome looking creatures. I'd like to know the difference if they are albino white of just white. Very interesting Jody

cool