Yellowstone National Park officials announced Friday that a rare white buffalo, sacred to Native Americans, has not been seen since its June 4 birth.
The birth of a white buffalo, fulfilling a Lakota prophecy of better times, is the first recorded in Yellowstone National Park’s history and a milestone for the buffalo’s return, park officials said in confirming the birth for the first time.
Rare white buffalo calf born in Yellowstone, Montana; its ‘sacred’ name revealed
This is an extremely rare event: Wild white buffalo (also known as bison) are born about once every million or so births, according to the park.
The unusual calf was named Wakan Guri, which means “divine return” in Lakota. (AP Photo/Sam Wilson and Erin Braaten for Dancing Aspens Photography)
It is unclear whether the calf, named Wakan Guri, which means “divine return” in Lakota, is still alive.
A statement from the park said one in five calves die shortly after birth each spring due to natural causes, but officials declined to directly answer questions about whether they believed the calf had died.
Officials received photos and reports from multiple park visitors, professional wildlife watchers, commercial guides and researchers that confirmed the birth of the white buffalo, but park officials have not found the buffalo since June 4, and officials are not aware of any other confirmed sightings within the park, one of the last refuges for free-roaming American bison.
Park spokeswoman Morgan Warsin said rangers who regularly work in the park’s more accessible and more remote areas have not seen the animal.
Miss Shoshnon Bannock Queen Develyn Hall took to the stage during a naming ceremony for a white buffalo calf at the Buffalo Field Campaign Headquarters in West Yellowstone, Montana, on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Sam Wilson)
Native American leaders held a naming ceremony earlier this week to celebrate the animal’s sacred birth, and Lakota members warn that a prophecy tied to the white buffalo’s birth is also a signal that more must be done to protect the Earth and the animals that live on it.
The calf’s fate is growing in doubt after it was not seen for weeks after it was born in Lamar Valley, a popular wildlife viewing spot in Yellowstone National Park. The young buffalo could fall victim to predators, currents, disease or other dangers.
Mike Meese, co-founder of the Buffalo Field Campaign, a conservation group that works with tribes to protect and celebrate wild buffalo and organized this week’s ceremony, said he believes the calf is alive somewhere in the park, away from roads and trails where most tourists go. He said tourists in Yellowstone spotted an unusually large group of grizzly bears with five cubs earlier this month, but they haven’t been seen since.
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But what’s most important about the white buffalo, Meese said, is that it fulfills a prophecy that’s both a warning and a blessing.
“Dead or alive, the message was conveyed from above and times are different now. We have to make a change for the future,” he said.
