A newborn white bison was recently spotted in Yellowstone National Park, surprising visitors.
White bisons are not only incredibly rare, accounting for only one in every ten million births, but they are also regarded sacred by the Lakota, with one chief describing their presence as a “blessing and a warning.”
Yellowstone is home to many gorgeous species, but early this month, tourists observed something genuinely awe-inspiring and exceptionally unusual.
On June 4, photographer Erin Braaten was visiting the park with her family when she observed “something really white” in the park’s Lamar Valley, according to the Associated Press.
That small white thing was a baby white bison, an exceptionally uncommon mammal with just one in per ten million births. It’s even more unusual to witness a white bison this young; Braaten stated she missed the birth “by a few minutes.”
She claimed she was “totally floored” by the unusual occurrence. She says they watched the calf and mother for 30-45 minutes, but never saw the calf again on the return trip.
The birth of this white bison is significant not just because it is incredibly rare, but also because many Native American tribes regard the white bison as a sacred emblem.
The animal has great significance for the Lakota, who regard the “White Buffalo Calf Woman” as a prophet vital to their faith. According to mythology, the woman appeared thousands of years ago during a famine, offering them a sacred ceremonial pipe and teaching them the seven sacred ceremonies.
She then transformed into a white buffalo calf, promising to return in that shape during bad times.
“To American Indians, a White Buffalo Calf is the most sacred living thing on earth,” the National Park Service wrote. “The calf is a sign to begin life’s sacred loop… The birth is sacred within the American Indian communities, because it brings a sense of hope and is a sign that good times are about to happen.”
After the news of this white bison calf’s arrival, tribal leaders regarded it as a sign that more must be done to help the earth and animals.
“The birth of this calf is both a blessing and warning. We must do more,” Chief Arvol Looking Horse, keeper of the sacred White Buffalo Calf Woman Pipe and spiritual leader of the Lakota, Dakota and Nakota Oyate in South Dakota, told AP.
