>> HELLO AND WELCOME TO "IN
WISCONSIN."
I'M PATTY LOEW.
THIS WEEK TRAVEL DEEP INTO THE
NORTHWOODS FOR A RARE LOOK AT
WHAT SOME CALLED THE GHOSTS OF
THE FOREST.
MEET THIS SUCCESSFUL ARTIST WHO
DRAWS INSPIRATION FROM HIS SON.
FIND OUT HOW SCIENCE HAS
ANSWERED THE AGE-OLD QUESTION,
HOW OFTEN DO YOU REALLY NEED TO
WATER YOUR CHRISTMAS TREE?
PLUS WE'LL LEARN HOW TO MAKE A
TOOL CALLED A MUDDLER AND FIND
OUT WHY IT'S ESSENTIAL TO MOST
HOLIDAY PARTIES "IN WISCONSIN."
>> MAJOR FUNDING FOR "IN
WISCONSIN" IS PROVIDED BY THE
PEOPLE OF ALLIANT ENERGY WHO
BRING SAFE, RELIABLE AND
ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY ENERGY
TO KEEP HOMES, NEIGHBORHOODS
AND LIFE IN WISCONSIN RUNNING
SMOOTHLY.
ALLIANT ENERGY OFFERING
ENERGY-SAVING IDEAS ON THE WEB.
THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
PAUL B. CARBONE COMPREHENSIVE
CANCER CENTER PROVIDING CANCER
RESEARCH, EDUCATION AT
TREATMENT.
THE UW PAUL B. CARBONE
COMPREHENSIVE CANCER CENTER,
COMPREHENSIVE AS DESIGNATED BY
THE NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE.
INFORMATION AVAILABLE ON THE
WEB AND BY THE ANIMAL DENTAL
CENTER OF MILWAUKEE AND
OSHKOSH, A VETERINARY
SPECIALIST WORKING WITH PET
OWNERS AND FAMILY VETERINARIANS
THROUGHOUT WISCONSIN PROVIDING
CARE FOR ORAL DISEASE AND
DENTAL PROBLEMS OF SMALL
COMPANION ANIMALS.
>> AS OUR HOLIDAY GIFT TO YOU,
OUR FIRST REPORT BRINGS YOU A
RARE LOOK AT WHAT SOME CALL THE
GHOSTS OF THE FOREST.
ACTUALLY THEY'RE WHITE DEER, AN
ALBINO DEER HERD.
JOANNE GARRETT TRAVELED INTO
THE NORTHWOODS TO BRING US THIS
RARE LOOK AT THE ILLUSIVE
CREATURES.
>> VISUALLY THEY'RE SO UNUSUAL
AND SO STARTLING.
IT LOOKS LIKE A GHOST AT TIMES
JUST KIND OF DRIFTING THROUGH
THE WOODS.
>> JEFF RICHTER IS A NATURE
PHOTOGRAPHER BASED IN MERCER.
SOME TEN YEARS AGO RICHTER TOOK
HIS CAMERA AND WENT TO TRACK
DOWN A MYSTERY.
LOCAL STORIES OF A BAND OF
WHITE DEER NEAR BOULDER
JUNCTION.
HE SAW A FLASH OF WHITE.
>> AND SO I STOPPED AND GOT OUT
OF THE CAR AND HAD MY CAMERAS
WITH ME SO I EASED OVER THERE
AND ALL OF A SUDDEN THE DEER
POPPED ITS HEAD UP AND I LOOKED
EYE TO EYE WITH THIS WHITE DEER
AND WAS INSTANTLY HOOKED BY
THEM.
>> SO BEGAN A DECADE-LONG QUEST
THAT HAS RESULTED IN RICHTER'S
RECENT BOOK, WHITE DEER.
>> THE HEADLIGHTS FLASH ONTO A
WHITE DOE STANDING RIGHT BY THE
WORD AND WE WERE GOING SLOW
ANYWAY BUT THE BRAKES ARE ON
AND THE INTAKE OF BREATH AND OH
MY GOD, WHITE DEER.
>> JOHN BATES OF MAN --
MANITOWISH IS A WELL-KNOWN
NATURALIST AND THE AUTHOR OF
THE TEXT OF RICHTER'S BOOK.
IT WAS HIS JOB TO RESEARCH THE
SCIENCE AND HISTORY OF THESE
DEER IN WISCONSIN.
HE DISCOVERED THEY SEEM TO HAVE
BEEN HERE FOR AGES.
THEY ARE THE SUBJECT OF NATIVE
AMERICAN LEGENDS AND THEY'RE
MENTIONED IN THE JOURNALS OF
EUROPEAN EXPLORERS.
>> THERE IS A POCKET HERE IN
MANITOWISH WATERS, BOULDER
JUNCTION AND LAND O'LAKES AREA
AND THERE ARE INDIVIDUALS SEEN
ALL AROUND THE STATE.
THERE SEEMS TO BE AN UNUSUAL
CONCENTRATION HERE IN NORTH
CENTRAL WISCONSIN.
WHY I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA.
>> WHY THE WHITE DEER CAME TO
FLOURISH IN THESE PLACES NO ONE
KNOWS BUT THERE ARE AT LEAST
TWO REASONS WHY THEY'RE
THRIVING NOW.
>> LOCAL PEOPLE PROTECT THESE
DEER AND FEED THESE DEER AND WE
HAVE LAWS NOW THAT PREVENT
PEOPLE, AT LEAST COSTS YOU
DEARLY IF YOU WISH TO SHOOT ONE
THIS WISCONSIN, YOU'LL PAY.
>> THEY'RE PROTECTED BY STATE
LAW AND CHERISHED BY THE LOCAL
COMMUNITIES.
AND YES, THEY REALLY ARE ALBINO.
PINK EYES ARE NOT REQUIRED
ACCORDING TO BATES' RESEARCH.
>> I'VE ALWAYS BEEN TOLD THAT
ALBINO DEER HAD TO HAVE PINK
EYES SO I EVENTUALLY CONTACTED
A PROFESSOR OF GENETIC STUDIES
AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA
WHO TRIED HIS BEST TO EDUCATE
ME AND THE BOTTOM LINE IS HE
SAID THERE ARE MANY FORMS OF
ALBINOISM AND THAT PINK EYES
ARE A STRONG LIKELIHOOD BUT NOT
A NECESSITY.
>> WHAT WILL YOU SEE IN
WISCONSIN'S WHITE DEER?
>> PINK EARS, THEIR NOSES WILL
BE PINK AND THE EYE OF AN
ALBINO DEER WILL BE EITHER PINK
OR LIGHT BLUE OR GRAY.
THE EYES ALMOST LOOK LIKE THE
EYES OF A GOAT.
VERY DIFFERENT LOOKING.
YOU HAVE THE BRILLIANT WHITE
ANIMAL WITH THESE PINK
CHARACTERISTICS, EARS, NOSE AND
HOOVES.
>> SO HOW MANY OF THESE WHITE
DEER DO WE HAVE IN WISCONSIN?
>> IF WE RAN THE NUMBERS WE
HAVE 1.5 MILLION MORE OR LESS
DEER AND IF WE HAVE A 1 IN
20,000 CHANCE OF HAVING
ALBINOS, 20,000 INTO 1.5
MILLION --
[LAUGHTER]
WHERE IS MY CALCULATOR?
I DON'T KNOW.
IT'S NOT A VERY BIG NUMBER.
[LAUGHTER]
>> BUT THAT THAT ROLL OF THE
GENETIC DICE DOESN'T SAY HOW
MANY ANIMALS WILL ACTUALLY
SURVIVE.
BATES, THE NATURALIST,
SPECULATES.
>> IN THE SUMMER THEY'LL BE FAR
MORE OBVIOUS TO A NATURAL
PREDATOR BUT IN THE WINTER,
FIVE MONTHS OUT OF THE YEAR,
THEY WOULD HAVE THE ADVANTAGE.
FIVE MONTHS VERSUS SEVEN
MONTHS, MAYBE IT'S A TRADEOFF.
>> YOU CAN SEE THE ROLE OF THE
GENETIC DICE PLAYED OUT IN
INDIVIDUAL FAMILIES.
>> I'VE SEEN ALBINO DOES WITH
BROWN AND WHITE FAWNS AND I'VE
SEEN BROWN DOES WITH ALBINO AND
BROWN FAWNS AS WELL.
THEY CAN HAVE BOTH AND THEY
SEEM TO NOT BE OSTRACIZED FROM
THE OTHER DEER.
AT TIMES THEY SEEM TO BE THE
DOMINANT ANIMAL AND OTHER TIMES
THEY SEEM TO BE A MORE
SUBMISSIVE ANIMAL.
THEY JUST SEEM TO BE REGULAR
DEER AS FAR AS THE DEER ARE
CONCERNED.
>> REGULAR IN BEHAVIOR,
REMARKABLE IN APPEARANCE.
>> WE HAVE ACTUALLY HAD A
COUPLE OF STORES WHERE CLERKS