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Miami Herald

Strange bird leaves hunter ‘speechless' as they cross paths in Mississippi wilderness

An odd-looking creature seen only on trail cameras in Mississippi proved to be even more stunning when it finally crossed paths with a hunter, state officials say. What Glace Rone encountered was a completely white turkey, except for a single black tassel hanging from the bird's breast. 'I'm speechless! This is the most beautiful animal I've ever had the opportunity to chase and it's impossible to be any more grateful,' Rone said in a March 15 Instagram post. 'A man couldn't trade me a gold monkey for this moment!!! I have no clue how to express how thankful I am.' The unusual harvest came on the first day of turkey season in Mississippi, and among those lauding Rone's hunting skills was the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks. 'After seeing this unique leucistic turkey on camera, Glace was on the lookout when he hit the woods,' the department wrote in a March 18 Facebook post. 'The rare presence of leucism is a genetic condition that affects pigmentation resulting in white, pale, or patchy skin, feathers, hair, etc.' Rone lives in Kosciusko, about a 70-mile drive northeast from Jackson, and he didn't reveal where the hunt took place. Multiple hunters were in the same area to find the bird, but it was Rone who looked up to see it '50 yards away and coming straight toward' him, the Clarion Ledger reported. He pulled the trigger on his shotgun when it got 20 yards closer, the outlet said. 'I've hunted my whole life, and I've heard about them, but I've never seen one. It's like hunting a unicorn,' Rone told the Clarion Ledger. Among the outlets that have covered Rone's hunt is Outdoor Life, which called it 'a once-in-a-lifetime' turkey.