'1 out of every 100,000:' See the rare female elk recently spotted in Colorado

A pistillate elk with a unsocial familial trait is turning heads successful Colorado and beyond.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife precocious shared photographs of a uncommon elk, a piebald pistillate cow, retired successful the wild.

The pistillate elk, which sports a brownish and snow-white coat, "has been catching attraction for a spot and for bully reason" since it was spotted successful Estes Park, a municipality that serves arsenic the basal for Rocky Mountain National Park.

The quality of the fur is the effect of a familial trait that causes a "white overgarment of hairsbreadth with immoderate patches of brown," according to the authorities agency.

The familial anomaly, commonly seen successful deer, "causes random patches of tegument to deficiency the specialized pigment cells that springiness cervid hairsbreadth its color," according to the National Deer Association. Even the tegument underneath the achromatic hairsbreadth lacks color.

"This uncommon familial trait occurs successful astir 1 retired of each 100,000 elk," the bureau wrote successful a May 12 Facebook post. "If you're fortunate capable to drawback a glimpse of her, retrieve to springiness her tons of space!"

Colorado Parks & Wildlife did not instantly respond to USA TODAY's petition for comment.

Visitors stock photos, videos of the 'rare elk'

After Colorado Parks & Wildlife shared images from the spontaneous photo-op connected Facebook, radical who travel the leafage besides began stock archetypal photos and videos of the piebald pistillate cattle and others they've seen successful the comments of the post.

"I saw her a mates weeks ago," 1 idiosyncratic wrote successful the comments. "Such an astonishing experience!!"

This pistillate elk whitethorn apt beryllium 1 of one, oregon astatine slightest 1 of a fewer "piebalds" foraging crossed Colorado, which boasts the largest elk colonisation successful the world. Over 280,000 elk, with and without the familial trait, person lived successful the country since the mid 2020s.

Remember Morris from "Happy Gilmore?" He's successful a amended place.

While immoderate were successful awe of the creature's beauty, others were cracking jokes astir the elk getting into immoderate cocaine, oregon powdered sugar.

"Did Cafe Du Monde unfastened up a store up there?" different idiosyncratic wrote successful the comments. "Looks similar she got excessively adjacent to idiosyncratic eating a beignet and startled them. WYKYK."

This nonfiction primitively appeared connected USA TODAY: Female elk with 'rare' familial trait turns heads successful Colorado