WATCH: Leucistic Deer Caught on Video in Colorado Park

A beautiful, rare leucistic deer was caught on video grazing at the head of the Cherry Creek Reservoir over the weekend.

If you're anything like me, you might be saying "What is a leucistic deer?" This is the official explanation from the Merriam-Webster Dictionary:

An abnormal condition of reduced pigmentation affecting various animals (such as birds, mammals, and reptiles) that is marked by overall pale color or patches of reduced coloring and is caused by a genetic mutation which inhibits melanin and other pigments from being deposited in feathers, hair, or skin

This is not the same as the term "albino" which refers to animals (and humans) that have milky white, or colorless skin and hair. Another big difference between leucistic and albino creatures is in the eyes. Albino animals and humans have a pink or blue iris and deep red pupil.

2% of whitetails are piebald/leucistic. And beyond their spectacular rarity, there are a lot of stories and superstitions surrounding white whitetails in the wild. Native Americans believed they were magical and bad luck to kill.

Source: Colorado Parks and Wildlife Twitter

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