This is the strangest looking deer herd you will ever see.
Or possibly not see depending on what happens.
Hundreds of rare white deer roaming on an abandoned US Army depot face an uncertain future when the plot of land goes on sale.
There are about 200 white deer – a natural variant of the brown white-tailed deer – on 7,000 acres of the site that will soon be put up for bids.
The creatures have been living in overgrown munitions bunkers at the sprawling former depot and breeding largely undisturbed since the middle of last century.
The white deer – a genetic quirk that developed naturally on the site – have thrived, even as the depot itself has transitioned from one of the most important Cold War storehouses of bombs and ammunition to a decommissioned relic.
But now, as local officials seek to put the old Seneca Army Depot in Romulus, New York, up for bids next month, there is concern the sale could also mean the end of the line for the unusual white deer.
A group of residents dedicated to saving the animals has proposed turning the old depot into a world-class tourist attraction to show off both its rich military history and its unusual wildlife.
The Nature Conservancy also is looking at options for preserving the largely undeveloped landscape.
Dennis Money, of Seneca White Deer Inc, said: ‘When we ran bus tours on a limited basis between 2006 and 2012, we had people come from all over the United States to see the deer.
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