A white bison calf born Jun. 4 and culturally significant to American Indians has since gone missing, Yellowstone National Park (YNP) said Friday.
“At this time, Yellowstone National Park can confirm, based on multiple creditable sightings, that a white bison calf was born in Lamar Valley on June 4, 2024,” the statement read. “To date, park staff have been unable to locate the calf.”
The missing calf is leucistic — having black eyes and pigmented hooves — and thus is not an albino, biologists who analyzed numerous photographs of the calf reportedly told the YNP.
The birth of a white bison calf is “a rare natural phenomenon” last observed before the near extinction of bison in the late 19th century, according to the YNP. (RELATED: Yellowstone Tourist Gets Jail Time For ‘Dangerous,’ Caught-On-Camera Incident)
The recently reported birth appeared to signal the existence of a natural genetic legacy owing to the YNP‘s successful recovery of a wild bison population of 3,000-6,000 animals. So rare is such a birth in the wild that it is thought to occur in 1 in at least 1 million births. It, therefore, “is a landmark event in the ecocultural recovery of bison by the National Park Service (NPS),” the YNP revealed.
A white bison calf is culturally significant in American Indian culture, the YNP acknowledged.
The Great Sioux Nation’s Chief Arvol Looking Horse, the 19th Generation Keeper of the Sacred White Buffalo Calf Pipe and Bundle, named the calf Wakan Gli, meaning Sacred Return or Comes Holy, at a June 26 ceremony in West Yellowstone, Montana, the conservation group Buffalo Field Campaign (BFC) said.
Approximately 500 people, including numerous Native American tribes, reportedly attended the event on the grounds of BFC’s headquarters on the territory of the Shoshone-Bannock.
Native Americans believe the rare birth “fulfills an ancient Native American prophecy that is a blessing and a warning,” the BFC reported.
“The prophecy of the White Buffalo Calf Woman says we are at the crossroads and it’s up to each and every one of us to make it happen. For the future of our children, we must come together and bring that good energy back,” Chief Arvol Looking Horse reportedly said.
Bison calving occurs in late spring and early summer. However, “[e]ach spring, about 1 in 5 bison calves die shortly after birth due to natural hazards,” the YNP said.
There was an outpouring of reactions to the YNP’s statement, with many hoping the calf would be found.
Mike Mease, a co-founder of the BFC, told the Associated Press (AP) he believed the calf was still alive but away from trails most visitors use. He reportedly regarded the Lakota prophecy as having been fulfilled.
“Whether it’s dead or alive, the message has been relayed from the heavens and times are different now. We have to make changes for the future,” he reportedly said.
An even rarer, albino bison calf was born on Wagon Springs Ranch in Burnet, central Texas, FOX 7 Austin reported early May. The offspring of two blond bison, the albino calf was so rare that a subsequent breeding attempt between one parent bison and another blond bison reportedly did not yield a white calf.
