Chesapeake hunter bags rare 'ghost deer'

Its beautiful and unique... I think I'll kill it.

This idiot would have shot the last passenger pigeon, too.

I have to say, regardless of color, that is a nice deer. I estimate it at 19' outside spread, symetrical, nice mass. I would have shot regardless of the color (I consider myself an equal opportunity hunter.) The coat color in combination with the nice rack made it rare and thus... more valuable. This is universal as with all things rare such as metals, coins, webkins, an honest democrat, etc. This deer is not an albino. It is a piebald, and thus not as rare as everyone thinks. I have seen 2 different piebalds in the past 2 years. Accroding to biologists, they can make up 1% of the herd, and are generally unhealthy. So put on your underoos all you owl huggers and quit giving this guy a hard time. Predators are necessary.

In all honesty, I eat meat, I understand the rights of people to hunt for food. But what bothers me is this man didn't necessarily kill the animal for food. He passed up several others for a trophy. He wanted a nice trophy to hang on his wall. If he were more concerned about the amount of meat he would get then sure, I guess that'd be fine.. but he didn't.. He killed it because he wanted a nice trophy....sorry this just doesn't fly with me.

Just a piece of evidence of evolution!

Well at least a bullet killed it and not a truck. Yep fine vittles fer Christmas and a coat for momma too. Great story Pilot.

"Who cares, it's a rat with hooves..."

clone it and use its stem cells for research. Perhaps we can have herds of albino deer running around hampton roads which in turn can attract tourists.

This deer was a freak of nature ! I'm glad he got the kill. It had no way of camoflauging itself. He did it a favor by killing it. And for all these whiney fembots ( and some whiney femdudes )Get over it !! You will eat pork, beef, veal, chicken, etc. But No way should you hunt a animal that has been part of the food chain since time began. All these enviro-bandwagon jumpers make me sick. The ingrid newkirks and PETA-files of the world should be the ones hunted down. They are the real problem with the enviroment.If no one hunted wildlife would run rampant. Then disease would set in, And eventually kill off humans. Life isn't all pussy cats and flowers you bunch of cream puffs. Welcome to the real world.

They apparently have the most experience with inbreeding and genetic mutations.

Fact: there are more deer now than there was when the colonist arrived.This is due to game management paid for by hunters/fishermen that buy liscense, taxes on guns, ammo, fishing equip. etc. Fact: All us rednecks that can read and comprehend the story captured the part about bad genes, mutation, etc. Cull the animal from the herd so it does not reproduce more mutants/inferior deer and further weaken the gene pool. Fact: Those who are complaining, while your sons and daughters were hanging out at the mall, skateboarding, playing xbox, learning other good "life lessons" mine were in the woods learning how to hunt, shoot, be responsible with firearms and how to enjoy natures bounty. Hunting is a way of life to us who actually have a life!

I used to spot the ghost deer on Ft Pickett as recent as this spring. It was talked about around the base from the guard shacks to the chow halls. I'll wager it was more handsome alive.

Between the idiots that can't keep their dogs off of live fire ranges and overachievers like this fellow I wish there were more restrictions on the base.

My real concern is for the-anthrax-post. Just when you think you've seen it all, someone comes along & proves that there are still people who don't know how to pick up an encyclopedia to learn facts before adding comments to a message board for any & all people to read. Anthrax comes from bacterial spores (Bacillus anthracis) that lay in the ground, which infect the host (usually animals that eat tainted soil) & then spread when infected material is handled. Albinism (white skin) is a genetic issue---read up!! By the way, albinism isn't dangerous nor does it take lives like anthrax does. I cannot believe anyone would post to say that anthrax powder comes out of an animal's skin to make it white. Shaking my head on that one for sure!

Most every Native American tribe had some manner of "spirit" belief regarding albino animals. The Albino was protected by most Native American customs. Within the Northeastern Woodlands, Leni Lenape, Susquehannock, Iroquois (Six Nations) etc. One primary principle: The Albino was not to be hunted or killed. This taboo carried various curses.....If an albino deer were killed (and without remorse) the hunter might later loose his life in a freak accident often involving his hunting or survival skills. The general belief in certain legends concerning various individual animals persists into the 20th century, many of which can be documented.

Someone used the word predation, had to look that one up, to prey and kill, yep that about describes hunters. And I don't know, but I thought conservation meant to save not destroy. Mother Nature would have taken this animal long before the hunter, had it really been necessary. We can never best Mother Nature no matter how much we try. To listen to the hunters they're doing all of us a favor, while they're out communing with Mother Nature, I just can't figure out what that favor is. I'll be glad when the season is over, I keep expecting to get shot in my own yard by some fool who pulled off the side of the road cause there's a patch of trees and he's got some harvesting to do.

So of course he had to kill it. Way to go Jethro Bodeen!!

As far as I'm concerned, the best news is that the deer wasn't struck by a car, causing an accident with possible injuries. Deer are overpopulated and pose a road threat. It's surprising this one lived to be four years old. I say more power to the hunter; this is one deer I won't have to dodge!

boy- what a gorgeous animal- do you think it may have been even more beautiful while alive.

One poster commented that anti-hunters probably haven't spent a day in the woods in their lives is a laugh. From what I have seen traveling down rural roads in Virginia and North Carolina, it doesn't look like many hunters spend much time in the woods, either. All I see are a bunch of red necks standing on the roads with shot guns at ready. One fellow even had a chair welded to the bed of his truck. The hunting dogs are the only ones to go into the woods to roust the deer up so the hunters can shoot them from the road.

In this country, as long as you don't cheat on baseball;or, kill a dog...you are forgiven.

Glad you got it Jeff. True rarity it is. Don't listen to the crybabies in here, they think that by some wave of the wand their chicken fingers appear. And btw, I like animals, they're tasty! True I would have loved to have photographed it in the wild, but like you, would have shot it to get it out of the herd. Most ppl don't know that lic. fees go into better parks and rec. areas instead of having to be a burden on taxpayers.

And while we are generalizing here with our criticisms, I noticed that most detractors are women, and the males who are crying foul probably haven't spent a day in the woods in their lives.
And for those who don't believe you need to control the deer population through hunting, I suggest you actually do some research on the topic. Finally, while we still are throwing out generalizations, I bet some of these "do-gooder" crybabies also whine about reading nothing but negative news in the Pilot. Great story, great photo.

I can understand the need to hunt. I was born, raised, and live in a rural area. I have hunted, and I understand and see the effects of deer over population. The herd has to be thinned simply because the deer population has increased, and human encroachment has decreased their habitat. There are too many deer, and too little ecosystem to support them. That is a fact. If not for hunting many animals would simply die of disease or starvation. That being said, I would not have taken this animal. Such a rare creature should have been allowed to live, if for nothing else, a deep respect for nature and its uniqueness. The fact that piebalds are so rare indicates that killing this animal had no measurable benefit on the gene pool.

I live in the country now but have been a city girl for most of my life. I prefer to shoot deer with my camera and I love watching them come up in my backyard for acorns. Although I could never kill an animal for sport, I do respect the rights of others to do so. There is nothing constructive about insulting each other based on where we live or what we do in our spare time. Not everyone who hunts is an idiot. And just because I like animals, that doesn't make me a PETA advocate. I don't care for extremists. I believe they are dangerous to society. Can't we all just get along?

I can understand the need to hunt. I was born, raised, and live in a rural area. I have hunted, and I understand and see the effects of deer over population. The herd has to be thinned simply because the deer population has increased, and human encroachment has decreased their habitat. There are too many deer, and too little ecosystem to support them. That is a fact. If not for hunting many animals would simply die of disease or starvation. That being said, I would not have taken this animal. Such a rare creature should have been allowed to live, if for nothing else, a deep respect for nature and its uniqueness. The fact that piebalds are so rare indicates that killing this animal had no measurable benefit on the gene pool.

its amazing how only "certain" animals are ok to kill for recreation but not others

What's the difference between Michael Vick drowning a dog and deer hunters 'bagging' a rare albino deer? Both of these activities are beyond belief. What kind of person
takes joy in killing an animal? Killing game to survive is one thing, killing for sport is absurd.

As the majority of posts here make clear, hunting animals and killing them for sport is considered an activity for braindead rednecks, even in Virginia. Why not take up bowling? You get to "kill" all those duckpins and it doesn't require much intelligence or skill either.

As appalled as many of you are, I am sure you all are quite content to go home, prepare a wonderful meal with meat raised in less than appealing conditions, slaughtered by someone you don't know, and in a process you don't want to know about. Then it is packaged all nicely in styrofoam and celophane produced from oil pumped in third world countries that you don't care about.

Everyone should come face to face at least once in their life with the fact that all meat is some kind of dead animal, and everyone should at least once perform the act of killing, cleaning and preparing it to true truly appreciate luxury we have of eating meat as often as we do. Oh, and fish don't count, they just don't evoke the same emotional response.

Why let it live? Albino deer are not an endagered species and they could potentially mess up the heard by breeding. Good on him for taking it. I hope he at least has the hide tanned.