A beloved albino buck that locals in the Spooner, Wisconsin, area nicknamed “the King” has died of old age.
Washburn County Highway Commissioner Brian Danielsen described what happened as “the end of an era,” Wide Open Spaces reported Jan. 10.
“The King is dead,” he added about the beautiful buck that became a much-photographed celebrity in the community when he wandered out into the public.
Albino deer are among the wild animals specifically protected by gaming-and hunting law in Wisconsin, so the King was able to enjoy a long life.
He was estimated to be about 15 years old and weighed in at approximately 240 pounds.
The deceased animal was found on the side of a hill near the Danielsen’s property, where the buck regularly and memorably visited.
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Hunting sometimes get a bad rap in certain liberal precincts or from those who follow the vegan lifestyle and who aren’t shy about talking about it.
But hunters and outdoorsmen are good stewards of the land, and obviously law-abiding, both during and outside the season, as evidenced, in this instance, by the King’s longevity.
Megan Danielsen, Brian’s wife, told WCCO-TV in a report published Jan. 15, “I was thankful that he had a peaceful death. It wasn’t poaching or getting hit by a car.”
Many deer fall victim to disease, predation, hunger, traffic accidents, and other forms of suffering.
Even so, albino animals tend to have shorter lifespans than their traditional counterparts because “their unique coloring makes them easier for predators to locate,” Wide Open Spaces asserted.
The Danielsen family, who documented their friendly and long-lived neighbor’s life with their cameras, decided to bring the deceased animal to a taxidermist with the possibility of putting “the buck’s full body mount on display at a Spooner restaurant or business, so both locals and tourists can see him,” WCCO reported.
Megan Danielsen implied that the overall experience would enable her kids to learn about conservation practices.
“It teaches them appreciation for what we live in and what we have locally here,” she said.
Albinos constitute about one out of every 30,000 deer.
Wisconsin law defines a rare albino deer as an animal having “a coat of all white hair except that the hair on the tarsal glands, head or parts of the head may be a color other than white.”
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
