Unfortunate purple antler accessory on deer from ‘the little town of Pullman’ has united fans across the globe

It’s a wonder how Walter the deer made it to the New Year.

If the antlers atop his head weren’t reason enough for a hunter to tag him, one might think the purple adornment affixed to his right antler would be – especially in Pullman.

A white-tailed deer has become a burgeoning celebrity in the small college town that is home to Washington State University, where wearing rival University of Washington purple is akin to treason.

Walter, as he’s been affectionately nicknamed, has grown a global online following since getting tangled in a purple hammock last September. The Pullman Police Department were the ones to free him, but were unable to fully remove the fabric, as first reported by Pullman Radio News.

Sightings of Walter over the months since have led to several follow-up calls to the department over the last five months, said code enforcement officer Kayla Loop.

Concerned residents, mystified by the sharply dressed stag, have worried about his line of vision, that the fabric was intentionally placed or that it may impede his survival. Some even had suspects in mind, unaware Walter’s entanglement was an accident.

“ ‘I think some of the fraternities have been messing with this deer and are blinding this deer,’ ” Loop recounted one caller saying.

“I’m like, well, if they can even get close enough to this deer, good on them.”

Loop said the department has been in constant communication with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife about Walter, and would pass along their message that he’s likely going to be fine. For one, it didn’t impede his ability to see, eat or drink.

For another, it was guaranteed Walter would lose the headdress eventually. White -tail deer shed their antler annually.

It’s not uncommon for antlered critters to get entangled, and wildlife rehabilitators typically only intervene when material prevents an animal from performing normal functions, said Jennifer Sepulveda, a spokeswoman for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. Such an intervention is reserved for “truly necessary circumstances, as capture, immobilization, and treatment of large wildlife is resource-intensive and inherently stressful to the animal,” Sepulveda wrote in an email.

“I mean, it’s going to be a pain for him in the meantime, but it really wasn’t affecting his quality of life,” Loop said.

Walter shed his antlers earlier this month, just before a blast of winter weather hit the Northwest.

Once the onslaught of snow in Eastern Washington stops and temperatures start to rise, “the hunt is kind of on,” said Judy Willington, one of Walter’s biggest supporters in Pullman.

“Nobody’s found it yet,” Willington said. “But if I do find it, I would love to put it up on my porch and call it ‘Walter’s Place.’ ”

Willington is the creator of the “Where’s Walter?” Facebook group, where more than 1,100 people around the globe have kept up with the deer’s escapades on the Palouse. She could name the date she first spotted him on her ring camera she keeps pointed at her backyard bird feeder: Oct. 9, a visit she said inspired her to create a space where the community could see “where his adventures are taking him each day.”

“This hammock was huge,” Willington said. “It was dangling down to the ground. It was kind of hilarious to see him trying to get around and move about and live life with this great big hammock on his head.”

The Facebook page has appropriately been renamed “Where’s Walter’s Antler?”

Willington has posted photos of Walter during his visits over the last few months, as he’s returned to enjoy the oats she provides him. She said she noticed a limp when Walter first started coming around, and that she was advised by the nearby university’s wildlife rehabilitation center that his best chance at survival would be to find a safe yard with food nearby to bed down in while he heals.

Sepulveda said the department discourages feeding wildlife anywhere in the state, and in most of Spokane County, feeding moose, deer or elk is illegal under an emergency order from the department issued last year after two cases of Chronic Wasting Disease were discovered in the area.

Feeding wildlife can attract large groups, making it easier for the disease to spread, while also making the group more vulnerable to other illnesses, predation and poaching. It can also lead to safety hazards if animals are drawn across busy roads, and “removes their natural fear of humans, which can lead to human-wildlife conflict,” Sepulveda said.

Willington took it upon herself to provide a safe haven, although she knows “it’s frowned upon.” Getting to know Walter in the meantime has been a bonus, she said. Willington plans to write a children’s book inspired by his traipsing over the last five months.

“He comes every day doing funny things, you know, jumping through my yard, wagging his tail like a puppy when he’s running through,” Willington said. “It’s just fun to see him come visit. I kind of expect to see him, and never know what each adventure is going to bring.”

Aside from the joy it’s brought, Willington said she appreciates the sense of community fostered in the group as different Pullman residents share the same delight in spotting Walter in their yards. It’s emblematic of why she loves the place she and her family have called home since 2000, immigrating from Canada when her husband, Matthew Willington, was hired by Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories.

“It’s a nice community, and it’s been a good place for the most part for us to raise kids and all that stuff,” Willington said. “It’s been really fun, like I said, this thing with Walter, just to see how the whole entire community comes together.”

Walter’s reach goes well beyond the Cougar-faithful community; in response to an inquiry from The Spokesman-Review, members of the group said they’ve followed Walter’s story from across the country and overseas, from Louisiana to New Mexico to Connecticut, to Canada, England, Italy and Sweden.

While Walter may have lured them in, many of the respondents pointed to Willington as the reason they’ve stuck around.

“I came across the posts made by Judy quite accidentally and was hooked by her compassion for wildlife,” wrote Carol Martin, of Amble, England. “I’ve loved following Walter’s journey and will continue. Wonderful, to be so many miles away but connected to so many people.”

Roger Sakinsky, who’s followed along from his home in Chicago, said he loves nature, and thought Walter looked cool with his purple wig. He hopes to follow Walter long enough to see him show up in Willington’s yard with his own little ones one day.

“I think we were all wondering if he would eventually come to Judy and get close so that he would trust her gentleness in removing it from him,” Sakinsky wrote.

Some said that Walter reminded them of local wildlife celebrities in their own communities. A couple from Pulaski, New York, shared the story of Bella the deer, who in 2009 was orphaned as a fawn. The community cared for her for nearly a decade as she became a town mascot, as memorialized in a statue of her in 2020, according to the Post-Standard.

“Here’s the little town of Pullman having people from around the world watch,” Willington said. “That’s kind of cool.”

The group waits with bated breath for the discovery of Walter’s antler, which likely won’t come for weeks given the cold temperatures in the forecast. Several group members said they’d love to see Willington end up with it, and were surprised he wouldn’t have delivered it to his friend.

“I was kind of hoping he’d leave them in my yard,” Willington said. “Apparently, he didn’t get the memo.”