Unraveling the Mystery of Maine’s First Purple Deer

Tony Gerdaro, a nature photographer from South Portland, was driving through Cape Elizabeth when he noticed a peculiar-looking deer, according to Bangor Daily News.

This deer stood out not only because of its massive, bulbous growths under its jaw but also because the big guy was not the right color, the newspaper reported.

This buck was PURPLE. Say what?

Listen folks, nature never ceases to amaze us all with its awesome surprises.

Just when you believe you've seen it all, something jumps out and leaves you speechless. For example, a purple deer. Yeah. Purple. But why?

Some of you have seen this photo of the purple deer circulating around but no one really knew why he was changing color, until now.

As you can see by the post by Bangor Daily News above, other than the purple and bulbous bulbs, the deer looks fairly normal. So what it is?

It's being said that it is a bacterial disease, according to the newspaper, but which one?

That's what is questioned at the moment.

Nathan Bieber of the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife told the Bangor Daily News:

“We’ve seen somewhat similar conditions, but cases like this are rarely identical to others, and there are a lot of possibilities, It’s impossible to know for sure without sending samples to a lab.”

Some comments have popped up online saying it could be an infectious disease called "Lumpy Jaw".  Others mentioned it could be "Bullwinkle Deer," which is a condition that results in a swollen face for affected animals, according to the National Deer Association.

But the Bullwinkle doesn't turn you purple.

So the question remains, what's wrong with this beautiful creature? Inquiries by specialists are being made but nothing can be determined until a sample gets into a lab.

Let's hope that whatever happens in this bucks life is loving and humane.