Rare white deer captured on camera in the Peak District

White deer are considered so rare in the UK, with only a handful sightings reported over the last few decades.

One was spotted on Big Moor, in the Peak District on Saturday.

White deer have many mythical and spiritual connections in many cultures.

Celtic people considered them messengers from the other world, and a symbol of purity, while in Christianity, the white stag has meaning.

It was partly responsible for the conversion of the martyr, Saint Eustace. Eustace saw a vision of Christ between the stag's antlers and was told that he would suffer for Christ. A similar legend is associated with Saint Hubert.

White stags also have meaning for the Scout movement.

Lord Badden Powell, who founded the Scout movement, spoke of it at the Scout World Jamboree in Hungry, in 1933.

"The White stag has a message for you,” he said.

"Hunters of old pursued the miraculous stag, not because they expected to kill it, but because it led them in the joy of the chase to new and fresh adventures, and so to capture happiness.

"You may look on the White stag as the true spirit of Scouting, springing forward and upward, ever leading you onward to leap over difficulties, to face new adventures in your active pursuit of the higher aims of Scouting."

READ MORE

A white stag is a white-colored red deer or fallow deer, explained by a condition known as leucism that causes its hair and skin to lose its natural colour.