Thursday, January 6, 2011

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.

10 comments:

  1. How beautiful Marjorie
    Must be a wonderful sight to see.. Not even sure if we have deer in Australia.. wild deer that is..

    I love that Indian Prophesy... what a lovely thought!! Have a great weekend.. xxx Julie

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  2. They're so extraordinarily beautiful!

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  3. How eerie that you posted this just a few days before another national tragedy. They are indeed very beautiful. I saw this story as well and thought it would be time for a little road trip--as I only live a few hours away in Buffalo. Nature never fails to inspire....lovely blog!

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  4. I never knew such beautiful creatures existed! We have red dear, sika deer and fallow deer in Ireland. I was brought up near forestry and going to school as a teenager they would run in front of the bus. Lovely picture.

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  5. What a beautiful animal! So elegant and delicate!

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  6. Hi Marjorie,
    I guess I knew there were white deer but I thought it was more an urban myth. What a sight!


    Yes the movie was great. George and I both loved it. My friend Joanne didn't like the ending...but then she's a writer.
    I was going to email you but then realized you have a no-reply mail. Did you know that? If you want to change it then you just need to edit your profile and add in your email. I think many bloggers don't realize they have it set up that way.
    xx
    carole

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  7. wonderful blog!
    Greetings from Transylvania!

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  8. Hi Marjorie, Just wanted to say thanks for all your well wishes, I really appreciate it. Simone xx

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  9. Dear Marjorie:

    I would like to obtain your permission to use your photograph of the white deer for a project I am working on. Could you please e-mail me at kz2020@gmail.com?

    Thank you!

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  10. “Copyright Notice
    Copyright 2009. All photos and text on this blog site are personal property. All rights reserved. Content of this site may not be reproduced, in any manner without permission”

    I just love it when someone post a copyright notice on their blog after they stole the photo they are trying to protect. You lady do not have any right to use the picture of the white deer above because it's property of Wild66.com and was shot by Zip. Unreal!!

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