10 things you might not know about white stags

The recently released footage of a White Stag spotted in Scotland is causing a bit of a stir.

White stags always cause emotions to run high, probably because they are linked to us through centuries of legend and myth, so here are some handy white deer factoids while you watch and gape...

1. White deer are not albino. Their colouring is caused by leucism, a rare genetic condition that reduces the pigment of an animal’s hair and skin. Unlike albinos with their distinctive pink eyes, white deer’s eyes are coloured normally.

2. In Christianity, the white stag often symbolizes Christ, appearing with the sun between its horns.

3. The last recorded wild white stag in Britain was found decapitated in October on the border between Devon and Cornwell. It is believed it was killed as a trophy.

4. King Richard II used the white hart as his heraldic symbol.

5. November 3 is the feast day of Saint Hubert of Liège. Legend has it that Hubert was accosted by a white stag with a crucifix fixed between its antlers. The stag warned Hubert that he was heading straight to hell and so, to avoid his fate, Hubert became a Monk and eventually, the Bishop of Liège.

6. There are 546 pubs in the UK called the White Hart.

7. A German curse states that if a hunter kills a white deer, a member of their family will die within a year. Many who still subscribe to the superstition believe that the Austrian Archduke, Franz Ferdinand, was assassinated in Sarajevo as he had shot a white stag less than a year before in the Autumn of 1913. Europe was soon plunged into the First World War.

8. In Celtic mythology the White Stag appears when one is about to overstep the line, such as when Pwyll trespasses into Arawn’s hunting grounds.

9. If a white stag appears near Brodick Castle in Scotland, it is said that one of the Hamilton clan chiefs will soon shuffle off this mortal coil.

10. In the tales of King Arthur an appearance of a white stag is an omen that adventure is around the corner. Indeed after Arthur dreams of a white hart, he meets Merlin who predicts his death at Mordred’s hands. So, I wonder if Fran Lockhart, who discovered the white stag is off on a quest soon!