Mystery: Rare, ‘once-in-a-generation’ white buffalo disappears just weeks after shocking birth

Yellowstone officials say a rare white bison hasn’t been seen since its June 4 birth.

The beast, which fulfilled a Native American prophecy foreshadowing better times, was the first in the park’s history and was a landmark event in the species’ recovery.

But now it’s unclear whether the calf – named Wakan Gli, which means “sacred return” in Lakota – is still alive.

The park’s statement noted that each spring, about one in five calves die shortly after birth due to natural disasters, but officials declined to directly answer questions about their belief that the rare white calf died.

The birth of a white buffalo is an extremely rare event: a buffalo is born in the wild once in a million, or even less frequently, the park said.

Records show this is the first white bison to be born from the last wild herd in the United States, with other births having occurred in captivity in recent decades.

Park officials confirmed the birth of the white buffalo after receiving photos and reports from several park visitors, professional wildlife observers, commercial guides and researchers.

But since June 4, park workers have failed to locate him, and officials are unaware of any other confirmed sightings in the park, one of the last sanctuaries for free-roaming American bison.

Montana photographer Erin Braaten took photos of the white buffalo in the Lamar Valley while visiting the park with her children.

Rangers who regularly work in the park’s more accessible areas, as well as in the backcountry, have not seen the animal, park spokesman Morgan Warthin said.

Native American leaders held a ceremony earlier this week to honor the animal’s sacred birth and name the newborn animal after it.

Lakota members warn that the prophecy of the birth of the white buffalo is also a signal that more must be done to protect the land and its animals.

Suspicions about the calf’s fate grew as weeks passed without another sighting since its birth in the Lamar Valley, a prime spot for wildlife viewing in Yellowstone.

Mike Mease, co-founder of the Buffalo Field Campaign, a conservation group that works with tribes to protect and honor wild bison and which organized this week’s ceremony, said he believes the calf is alive somewhere in the park, away from the roads and walkways frequented by most visitors.

He said a grizzly bear spotted by Yellowstone visitors earlier this month with five cubs, an unusually large brood, has not been seen since.

But the most important thing about the white buffalo is that a prophecy, which is both a warning and a blessing, has been fulfilled, Mease said.

“Whether dead or alive, the message has been relayed from the heavens and times are different now. We need to make changes for the future,” he said

The birth of the sacred calf comes after a harsh winter in 2023 pushed thousands of Yellowstone buffalo, also known as bison, to lower elevations.

More than 1,500 people have been killed, sent to slaughter or transferred to tribes seeking to reclaim management of an animal their ancestors lived with for millennia.

Erin Braaten of Kalispell took several photos of the calf shortly after it was born earlier this month in Lamar Valley in the northeast corner of the park.

Her family was visiting the park when they spotted “something really white” among a herd of bison across the Lamar River.

Traffic stopped as the bison crossed the road, so Braaten stuck his camera out the window to take a closer look with his telephoto lens.

“I looked and it was a white bison. I was completely, completely stunned,” she said.

Once the bison left the road, the Braatens turned around and found a place to park. They observed the calf and its mother for 30 to 45 minutes.

“And then she kind of led him through the willows,” Braaten said. Although Braaten returned each of the next two days, she did not see the white calf again.

For many Native American tribes of the Great Plains, including the Lakota people, the birth of a white buffalo with black nose, eyes, and hooves is akin to the second coming of Jesus Christ.

The 2,000-year-old Lakota legend tells that when things were not going well, food was running out and the buffalo were disappearing, a white buffalo woman appeared, presented a tribesman with a pipe and a bundle, taught them how to pray and said that the pipe could be used to bring buffalo to the area to feed.

As she left, she transformed into a small white buffalo.

“And one day, when times are hard again,” said Looking Horse in recounting the legend, “I will return and stand on the earth like a white buffalo calf, black-nosed, black-eyed, black-hoofed .”

A similar white bison was born in Wisconsin in 1994 and was named Miracle, he said.

Troy Heinert, executive director of the South Dakota-based InterTribal Buffalo Council, said the calf in Braaten’s photos looks like a real white buffalo because it has a black nose, black hooves and dark eyes.

“From the pictures I’ve seen, this calf appears to have those characteristics,” said Heinert, who is Lakota. An albino buffalo would have pink eyes.

Other tribes also revere the white buffalo.

“Many tribes have their own stories of why the white bison is so important,” Heinert said. “All the stories tell that this bison is a very sacred animal. »

Heinert and several members of the Buffalo Field Campaign say they have never heard of a white buffalo born in Yellowstone, which is home to wild herds.

Jim Matheson, executive director of the National Bison Association, could not quantify the calf’s rarity.

“To my knowledge, no one has ever traced the birth of white buffalo throughout history.” So I don’t know how we can determine how often this happens.

In addition to herds of animals living on public lands or overseen by conservation groups, about 80 tribes across the United States own more than 20,000 bison, a number that has been increasing in recent years.

In and around Yellowstone, the culling or removal of large numbers of bison occurs nearly every winter, under an agreement between federal and Montana agencies that has limited the size of the park’s herds to about 5,000 animals.

Earlier this month, Yellowstone officials proposed a slightly larger population of up to 6,000 bison, with a final decision expected next month.

But Montana ranchers have long opposed expanding Yellowstone’s herds or transferring the animals to tribes.

Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte has said he will not support any management plan with a population goal higher than 3,000 Yellowstone bison.

Heinert sees the birth of the calf as a reminder “that we must live positively and treat others with respect.”

“I hope the calf is safe and living its best life in Yellowstone National Park, exactly where it was meant to be,” Heinert said.