The White Deer of the Senecas

Driving down Rt 96A in Upstate New York, along the 24 miles of chain link fence of the old Seneca Army Depot, you might get lucky and see a white deer.

The Depot, now retired, was a storage site for weapons from WWII to the Gulf War. The mysterious white deer were first spotted in 1949. Growing up, we kids imagined the deer's colorless fur was due to exposure to some nasty chemical compound. Actually, the deer are not albinos, they do not have red eyes. They are a recessive form of white-tailed deer. The Seneca herd which numbers about 200 animals, is the largest of its kind in the world.

White deer are part of Native American oral tradition, and were known as "Ghost Deer". I prefer to think of them as "Snow Deer", roaming the wintry landscape.

"It has long been predicted that there would come a time when a white male and female deer would be seen together, and that this would be a sign to the people to come together." Lenape Indian Prophesy

Hoping this prophecy comes true,
Marjorie

P.S. If you would like to read more about the white deer, click here.