Photographer Captures Rare, White Deer Mid-Sneeze (Because Nature Is Majestic)

On Sept. 26, hobbyist nature photographer Oban van Shie was strolling through Bradgate park — an 800-year-old deer park in Leicestershire, England — when he was captivated by a strange sight. Sitting among the park's resident herds of red and fallow deer, a snow-white buck rested its body in the tall, green grass.

"I had never seen a white deer before," van Shie told Live Science in an email. "I was intrigued given their rarity, although many others that have visited the park will have no doubt seen it."

Van Shie readied his camera and started snapping the buck from afar. It wasn't until he got home that he realized the true treasure he'd recovered. The glorious deer — eyes clenched, mouth cracked, tongue lolling — had been photographed mid-sneeze.

The next day, van Shie posted the buck pic on Reddit's "mildly interesting" forum, where it received nearly 90,000 upvotes. While most commenters were impressed or eager to draw comparisons to the TV show "BoJack Horseman," some questioned van Shie's interpretation of the photo.

"I have received some comments doubting whether the deer was sneezing but I was far away enough from the deer that it wouldn’t feel threatened, especially considering that the park is open to the public and there wasn’t enough noise for it to have been calling out," van Shie said. "Having done some research I am confident that it was in fact a sneeze."