Ohio Valley Outdoors Magazine

Albino deer — kill’m or let’m walk
Maurice King’s story

He nearly turned down a chance to hunt this mid-October day. He admits to falling asleep a few times and was about to leave his treestand before movement in the woods nearby shifted his focus. Wanting to head home minutes earlier, Maurice King III of Mansfield, Ohio quickly perked up when the a rare all-white deer appeared before him, about 25 yards out. His emotions covered all spectrums for the next several minutes as he studied the animal.

“I looked down at my chest to undo my safety harness straps and that’s when I seen him. It was a beautiful pure white, pink-eyed albino buck,” said King. He initially passed on killing the deer but later got another chance, and after some thought put an arrow into the white specimen.
King, a police officer for the Village of Bellville, Ohio, says he’s a very ethical person and hunter and defends his decision to tag the rare buck. He didn’t, however, expect the reactions he’s received by killing the 5-point, 180 animal near Snow Trails Ski Resort in Mansfield. The killing has brought mixed reviews. King has received hate letters about killing the deer, and many congratulations from friends and strangers.
“The local newspaper got seven different letters to the editor. Four of those were bashing me. They said I shouldn’t have done it. Some were pet lovers and didn’t understand,” said King.

He added the hate letters and calls continued for 3-4 weeks. Since then he’s also received numerous good comments about the deer and theories about what’s ethically correct. To his surprise, again, was a tag of ‘superstitions’ that have been attached to killing an albino deer. Some situations that were good, some were not.

“I had no idea,” said King of the superstitions. “I’d never heard about it (superstitions) until I took this deer. Some people say if you take a white albino you’ll never get another deer. I don’t know.
“And I’ve had people tell me they wouldn’t pass it (opportunity) up. A guy told me it’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing and ‘don’t worry about it’. One guy told me it’s like winning the lottery,” said King.

Maybe. King said he was offered more than $20,000 for the animal from an individual but he declined the offer. King said he wants to enjoy the deer.
Currently Casey Watterson of Lone Leaf Taxidermy of Mount Gilead, Ohio is working on a full mount of the deer. Watterson said it’s the first true albino deer he’s mounted. His shop is located about 15 minutes from where the deer was taken. “It’s the first albino I’ve seen. I haven’t heard of one in this area. I’ve hunted for years and have never seen one,” said Watterson of the trophy.

Watterson’s heard the superstition concerns about killing an albino too. “I’ve heard people say ‘let them walk’ or you’ll have seven years of bad luck hunting. Personally, if one comes up on me, I’m going to take him. I think 99.9 percent of people would. It’s such a rarity,” said Watterson.
King said he understands some people disagree with his decision to take the two-year-old albino. “I respect the environment and wildlife very much. Just think of all the animals consumed by people every day,” he said.

King said killing the deer was not a snap decision. He explains the hunt like this: “I was on my way home from work (6:30 a.m., Oct. 14, 2007) when my brother called asking if I wanted to go deer hunting. I really didn’t want to go because I was pretty tired. But I told my brother I would go for a short time. We got into the woods around 8 a.m. I climbed up in my treestand and got settled in. About 30 minutes later I was dozing off. I leaned over a couple of times because I was so tired. Finally the last time I about fell off my seat. So, at that point I decided it was time to go.”
King then began to exit the tree stand and that’s when the deer approached his location. It closed in to about 20 feet from the tree he was perched in. He then examined the albino, noticing its “stunning pink eyes” and “pure white body”. The last thing he noticed on the deer was “only a five-point rack”.

“The rack did not matter because that was the most unusual animal I had ever seen,” said King.
“Even though this buck was unusual and impressive, I did not want to take it because I wanted something bigger. For the past two years I have been trying to bag a 14-point monster that was in the area.”

King said he had several opportunities for an excellent shot but passed. After several minutes the deer left the area. “I wondered if I would ever see him again, but more than that, I wondered if anyone would ever believe what I had just experienced.

“Now completely alert, I scanned and listened to my surroundings hoping to see a big buck,” said King. He didn’t, but the albino buck bolted back into the picture from behind King’s location. “When he got within about 20 yards of me he stopped and nervously scanned the woods. After about a minute he slowly walked within 10 feet of my tree. He stopped and turned, positioning his body for yet another opportunity for a perfect shot. After all of this I finally realized this must be ‘a sign’ for me to take him. So I did,” said King.