NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Albino deer have been spotted roaming backyards and woods around Middle Tennessee. Although multiple people have captured videos and pictures recently, the sightings are extremely rare.
Amanda Fisher had just gotten off Interstate 840 near Arrington when she spotted a rare sight.
“I look closer and I said oh my gosh that’s a white deer,” Fisher said.
She turned her car around to get a closer look and take a video.
“It really truly almost brought tears to my eyes,” Fisher said. “I want to say I got the video for others to see but really I got video so people would believe me.”
Over the last week two other people have hit record on their phones after seeing albino deer on their Middle Tennessee properties.
“Very rare,” Region 2 communication and outreach for TWRA, Barry Cross said. “I’ve actually driven through some of these places where they’ve been reported and I’ve never seen one.”
Cross say biologists estimate there could be as many as one in every 20,000 or as few as one in every 100,000.
“It’s a gene that these animals have that’s passed from their parents,” Cross said. “The parents may not actually show any sign of albinism.”
In 2001, the state legislature made it illegal to hunt albino deer. Anyone caught harvesting one could be charged with a Class A misdemeanor.