A mysterious Maine deer is turning purple but nobody knows why

Tony Gedaro of South Portland recently encountered a bizarre looking white-tailed deer while driving through Cape Elizabeth. The deer, a crotch horn buck, not only is sporting large, bulbous masses on its chest and on the underside of its lower jaw, but it appears to be turning purple.

The deer looks like something out of a fairy tale. Most of the face and neck, the top of the head, the velvet on the antlers and the ears are either deep purple or have turned a lilac shade.

The rest of the deer appears normal and the animal looks otherwise healthy.

The avid wildlife and nature photographer captured photos of the unusual deer. It’s unclear what caused the unusual appearance.

“We’ve seen somewhat similar conditions, but cases like this are rarely identical to others, and there are a lot of possibilities,” said Nathan Bieber, the deer biologist for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. “[It’s] impossible to know for sure without sending samples to a lab.”

Some commenters on Facebook provided a link to a condition called “Bullwinkle Deer,” which results in a swollen face for affected animals. According to the National Deer Association, that illness is caused by a bacteria.

But that doesn’t look exactly like what’s affecting the Maine deer and the “Bullwinkle Deer” affliction doesn’t seem to be associated with the animal turning partly purple.

Bieber has put out inquiries to other biologists and some veterinarians to determine whether anyone else may have come across a similar situation involving a deer or other animal.

People in Cape Elizabeth continue to see the deer in their travels past the area, so we’ll assume it’s OK. However, it would be interesting to solve the mystery of what made this deer turn purple.