Well friends, as much as the RR Team has long desired pictures of our own Rutgers Rarity, Al, the famed albino deer of Piscataway " we didn't want it like this. We finally have the proof of Al's existence yet with this evidence came the sad news that Al has passed on to that great, big, semi-suburban meadow in the sky. Al was a beautiful albino deer who actually turned out to be a she, but we'll stick with gender-bending nickname for our favorite white steed. It appears that Al met w/her demise on River Road today [11/15/05] and was taken to a deer boneyard in a woodsy corner of Piscataway. When one of our RR correspondents called us with the bad news that the albino doe had been hit by a car on River Road, we immediately leapt into action, knowing that the hide of a rare creature like this is often sought after by hunters and sportsmen. Lo and behold Al's hide was still intact when we arrived. However, upon leaving the grisly scene we noted a man pulling up and eyeing the corpse speculatively.

So here's a final tribute to Al and her brethren - I had once seen her near Busch Campus and mistook her for a unicorn. I don't mind admitting that I had always entertained the secret hope that maybe Al was in fact a unicorn, despite the many reports that identified her as a deer. So today, my friends, was not just the death of a genuine Rutgers Rarity but the death of my secret belief as well.

The tragic remnants of the albino deer.

Although Al rests in peace in these snapshots, she is not safe from those who covet her precious coat.

First Account

The Albino Deer of Rutgers or My Buddy "Al"

Many, many people have seen the albino deer that have an affinity for the Rutgers New Brunswick campuses. I saw my first one on River Road (and no, it was not road-kill), by Johnson's Park at about dusk one weeknight in October 2004. The deer was about 75% white with a brown spotting or dark mottling on its face. It was so shaggy that I thought it was a strange huge dog or cow, but no, on a closer inspection it was definitely a deer with antlers. It was grazing contently near the road, just staring at traffic. I approached it and it reacted like any normal wild animal " just sort of bounded off into the woods on the border of Johnson Park. I have seen him (and/or his brethren) many times afterwards on Busch campus and in Piscataway. I call him "Al".

I was surprised to find out through the Rutgers Rarities account that there were other such sightings. Unlike "Al", however, this albino deer did not have antlers. It must have been of the female gender. By these accounts, there are at least two albino deer that exist in the area, with at least one being male and the other female. It was a rare sighting, and my only regret was being without camera at the time. We told our friend the next day that we had found her unicorn, of sorts, and that her secret was safe with us.