Two unusual deer harvested in the area
by Karin L. Nauber
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| Spencer Truax with the rare white doe he shot on the morning of Saturday, November 3 in Eastern Township. Spencer is the son of Scotty and Geri Truax of rural Eagle Bend. -submitted photo |
It isn't very often that you find two rare animals harvested in the same year, let alone on the same weekend.
So was the case this past opening deer hunting weekend.
Spencer Truax, son of Scotty and Geri Truax of rural Eagle Bend and a 2007 graduate from Parkers Prairie High School, shot a white whitetail deer on November 3 in Eastern Township. The Truax family lives about five miles from Eagle Bend.
Spencer said he had seen the deer earlier this season while bow hunting. He guessed that this was last year's fawn and he was about 50 yards from her when he got her in his sights.
Spencer said she is not an albino and that her fur was dusted with brown fur. This is a white whitetail. This deer will have white fur all year round, but will not have the pink eyes, nose and hoofs of a true albino. An albino has no body pigment at all, resulting in pink eyes, nose, hooves. The Truax deer has brown eyes and a black nose.
The family plans to do a full body mount.
Another rare to the area deer that was harvested opening weekend was a mule deer shot by
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| Tim Fulford, son of Judd Fulford of rural Browerville, shot this 4 x 4 mule deer buck on opening day last weekend. -submitted photo |
The mule deer was taken on opening day in Turtle Creek Township on the Judd Fulford property just off the "Snake Trail" or as it is now called, Mosswood Drive.
Minnesota is known for its whitetail deer, but not for mule deer. The buck has a black tail, black under-belly and very large ears.
The mule deer was shot by Tim who is a school teacher in Eden Prairie and was hunting with his eleven-year-old son Matthew at the time.
The mule deer is a deer whose habitat is typically in the western half of North America. It gets its name from its large mule-like ears. Its closest relative is the black-tailed deer (considered a subspecies of mule deer). Unlike its eastern cousin, the whitetailed deer, mule deer are generally more associated with the land west of the Missouri River. The most noticeable differences between whitetails and muleys are the color of their tails and antlers. The mule deer's tail is black tipped. Mule deer antlers "fork" as they grow rather than branching from a single main beam (as with whitetails).