TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — A mystical-looking white colored deer has been turning heads in Vigo County, as multiple people have reported seeing it all across Terre Haute.
Several WTWO/WAWV viewers have sent in these images and videos of multiple white colored deer—also called a white stag—that have been seen roaming around fields in the area.
In Celtic and Arthurian Folklore, the white stag represents an otherworldly messenger or a symbolizes a knight’s quest for purity.
However, Indiana Department of Natural Resources officials said these white-colored deer are completely normal and are colored white due to an anomaly in the deer’s fur.
“It’s essentially just a genetic anomaly, and so it’s a normal deer, it just has a different coloration. So, I think it’s in less than a half or quarter percent of deer this happens,” said Joe Chadell, Indiana DNR State Deer Biologist. “It literally is just a genetic anomaly. It’s just like, you occasionally see a person with a hair color that is unexpected, this is basically the same thing.”
Chadell added that these deer are completely legal to hunt and are legally and genetically no different than a white-tailed deer.
