A rare white buffalo calf has been captured on camera in Yellowstone National Park, triggering excitement and a warning from one the largest Native American nations.
Knewz.com has learned that the animal in question was part of a herd that impeded traffic as it crossed the road, creating an unexpected photo opportunity for park visitors.
Erin Braateen was in one of the vehicles with her family and had her camera on hand when she first spotted the calf in a herd across the Lamar River.
The animal drew nearer and eventually passed in front of the vehicle, leaving no doubt in the viewers' minds about what they were witnessing.
“I look and it’s this white bison calf. And I was just totally, totally floored,” Erin told Associated Press.
After the herd crossed the road, Braateen’s family repositioned their vehicle and continued observing the singularity for another 45 minutes.
“And then she [the mother] kind of led it through the willows there,” Brateen narrated.
“It was pretty amazing,” Braateen said in another statement to USA TODAY.
“It just seemed really odd for it to be there and we got stuck in traffic. And so I took my camera out and looked back and saw that it was actually a white bison calf that had just been born.”
She telegraphed appreciation that her family was there to witness the anomaly, saying:
“They were able to experience it too. It was just kind of a very neat, magical time for us all to see this.”
While the sighting may have been merely a good viewing opportunity for the park’s visitors that day, its significance runs deep for the Lakota Nation.
“The birth of this calf is both a blessing and warning. We must do more,” Lakota chief, Arvol Looking Horse, told Associated Press.
According to their legends, 2,000 years ago a white calf woman appeared during lean times.
She carried a bowl pipe and a parcel which she handed to a tribe member. According to the legend, the visitor taught people how to pray and told them that a pipe would manifest buffalo which could then be hunted for food.
Looking Horse explained that the woman promised to return when times became tough again:
“I shall return and stand upon the earth as a white buffalo calf, black nose, black eyes, black hooves,” she allegedly said and morphed into said animal before disappearing.
According to the University of Colorado Boulder (CU), a similar spectacle was observed around the same time of year in 2023. Then, unlike the single newly born calf spotted recently, four fully-grown white buffalo were seen in a herd.
CU noted that the sighting either challenged the pre-existing belief that white buffalos are a one in ten million occurrence—or it was the result of human interference.