Rare White Elk

[greg223]

This photo is of a cow elk. She has a condition known as Leucism, it is not an Albino. Leucism is when the animal is all white but no pink eyes or skin. The fact that she made it through her early years as a calf is amazing. She would be very visible to all predators, especially hunters. If I had a cow permit I would not harvest her.

The chances of encountering an all-white elk in the wild are exceptionally low — likely far less than 1 in 100,000 — making any sighting a once-in-a-lifetime event. I have had literally thousands of trail cam photos and I was stunned when I saw the photos. This is one several.

 

[crapshoot]

Beautiful!

 

[hunt0168]

Very cool.

 

[jmeddy]

now that is neat

 

[crapshoot]

Guess im probably the oddball (richard) cuz I'd probably dunp that sucker in a heartbeat and have it mounted.

 

[GC]

Given a choice, I would tag one of the other "normal" colored cows. Now, if it's the last day of an out-of-state hunt, and the freezer is empty... Sorry, honey, but you're going home with me. I have only seen one odd colored critter in all my time in the woods, a blue/white-ish wild turkey hen. She was in a big fall flock, and they fed about 60 yards away from my treestand as they headed for a roost one evening. I got a little blurry video, and it was a cool thing to see.

 

[Wind River]

I’ve seen some very light colored elk but none quite that white.

 

[spotstalkshoot]

Leading the other 2, so she's dominant, looks older. Hair looks different, not as full.

 

[greg223]

There were other photos of her following numerous others. Likely 40+ in the herd. She is not a lead cow. She is older, likely 8-9.

 

[BrianID]

I'm surprised she has survived. Neat photo.