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Post by Poor Richard on Jun 9, 2024 17:49:44 GMT -7
Rare white bison calf spotted in Yellowstone National Park KBZK reports "A very rare sight captured on camera in Yellowstone National Park this week has the wildlife community buzzing.
The photos are of an extremely rare white bison calf in the Lamar Valley."
View photos and video here. |
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Post by Poor Richard on Jun 12, 2024 7:31:50 GMT -7
Reported birth of rare white buffalo calf in Yellowstone park fulfills Lakota prophecy Yahoo News reports "The reported birth of a rare white buffalo in Yellowstone National Park fulfills a Lakota prophecy that portends better times, according to members of the American Indian tribe who cautioned that it’s also a signal that more must be done to protect the earth and its animals.
“The birth of this calf is both a blessing and warning. We must do more,” said Chief Arvol Looking Horse, the spiritual leader of the Lakota, Dakota and the Nakota Oyate in South Dakota, and the 19th keeper of the sacred White Buffalo Calf Woman Pipe and Bundle.
The birth of the sacred calf comes as after a severe winter in 2023 drove thousands of Yellowstone buffalo, also known as bison, to lower elevations. More than 1,500 were killed, sent to slaughter or transferred to tribes seeking to reclaim stewardship over an animal their ancestors lived alongside for millennia.
Erin Braaten of Kalispell took several photos of the calf shortly after it was born on June 4 in the Lamar Valley in the northeastern corner of the park.
Her family was visiting the park when she spotted “something really white” among a herd of bison across the Lamar River.
Traffic ended up stopping while bison crossed the road, so Braaten stuck her camera out the window to take a closer look with her telephoto lens.
“I look and it's this white bison calf. And I was just totally, totally floored,” she said.
After the bison cleared the roadway, the Braatens turned their vehicle around and found a spot to park. They watched the calf and its mother for 30 to 45 minutes.
“And then she kind of led it through the willows there,” Braaten said. Although Braaten came back each of the next two days, she didn't see the white calf again.
For the Lakota, the birth of a white buffalo calf with a black nose, eyes and hooves is akin to the second coming of Jesus Christ, Looking Horse said.
Lakota legend says about 2,000 years ago — when nothing was good, food was running out and bison were disappearing — White Buffalo Calf Woman appeared, presented a bowl pipe and a bundle to a tribal member, taught them how to pray and said that the pipe could be used to bring buffalo to the area for food. As she left, she turned into a white buffalo calf.
“And some day when the times are hard again,” Looking Horse said in relating the legend, “I shall return and stand upon the earth as a white buffalo calf, black nose, black eyes, black hooves.”
A similar white buffalo calf was born in Wisconsin in 1994 and was named Miracle, he said.
Troy Heinert, the executive director of the South Dakota-based InterTribal Buffalo Council, said the calf in Braaten's photos looks like a true white buffalo because it has a black nose, black hooves and dark eyes.
“From the pictures I've seen, that calf seems to have those traits,” said Heinert, who is Lakota. An albino buffalo would have pink eyes.
A naming ceremony has been held for the Yellowstone calf, Looking Horse said, though he declined to reveal the name. A ceremony celebrating the calf's birth is set for June 26 at the Buffalo Field Campaign headquarters in West Yellowstone.
Other tribes also revere white buffalo.
“Many tribes have their own story of why the white buffalo is so important,” Heinert said. “All stories go back to them being very sacred.”
Heinert and several members of the Buffalo Field Campaign say they've never heard of a white buffalo being born in Yellowstone, which has wild herds. Park officials had not seen the buffalo yet and could not confirm its birth in the park, and they have no record of a white buffalo being born in the park previously.
Jim Matheson, executive director of the National Bison Association, could not quantify how rare the calf is.
“To my knowledge, no one’s ever tracked the occurrence of white buffalo being born throughout history. So I’m not sure how we can make a determination how often it occurs.”
Besides herds of the animals on public lands or overseen by conservation groups, about 80 tribes across the U.S. have more than 20,000 bison, a figure that’s been growing in recent years.
In Yellowstone and the surrounding area, the killing or removal of large numbers of bison happens almost 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. Yellowstone officials last week proposed a slightly larger population of up to 6,000 bison, with a final decision expected next month.
But ranchers in Montana have long opposed increasing the Yellowstone herds or transferring the animals to tribes. Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte has said he would not support any management plan with a population target greater than 3,000 Yellowstone bison.
Heinert sees the calf's birth as a reminder “that we need to live in a good way and treat others with respect.”
“I hope that calf is safe and gonna live its best life in Yellowstone National Park, exactly where it was designed to be,” Heinert said." |
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Post by Poor Richard on Jun 14, 2024 13:45:23 GMT -7
Montana photographer captures 'mind-blowing' images of rare white bison reportedly born at Yellowstone Fox News reports "A photographer who was lucky enough to catch a glimpse of a rare white bison calf that was reportedly born at Yellowstone National Park has shared images of the potentially sacred sighting.
Erin Braaten of Dancing Aspens Photography in Kalispell, Montana, captured the moment while visiting the Lamar Valley section of the park, the photographer and mom of eight told Fox News Digital.
"We came around the corner, and there was a bison down in the river and in the front of us [where we] were stopped. And, behind us there was this kind of white light critter out there, and I thought maybe it was a coyote," Braaten said."
Read the full story and see photos here. |
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Post by Poor Richard on Jun 28, 2024 10:09:43 GMT -7
Tribes honor the birth of a rare white buffalo calf in Yellowstone and reveal its name: Wakan Gli Yahoo News reports "In a gathering near a picturesque lake outside Yellowstone National Park, hundreds of people cheered Wednesday as a Native American leader spoke the name revealed on a painted hide for a rare white buffalo that was born in the park earlier this month: Wakan Gli, which means “Return Sacred” in Lakota.
The moment marked the highlight of a Native American religious ceremony to commemorate the calf's birth that also featured dancing, drumming, singing and the retelling of how a mysterious woman brought a message of reassurance during hard times.
Earlier this month, the white buffalo calf was born in Yellowstone National Park's vast and lush Lamar Valley, where huge, lumbering bison graze by the hundreds in scenes reminiscent of the old American West.
To the several tribes who revere American bison — they call them “buffalo" — the calf's appearance was both the fulfilment of sacred prophesy and a message to take better care of the Earth.
“It’s up to each and every one of you to make it happen for the future of our children. We must come together and bring that good energy back,” Chief Arvol Looking Horse said at the ceremonies a few miles west of Yellowstone, in far southern Montana.
Looking Horse is spiritual leader of the Lakota, Dakota and the Nakota Oyate in South Dakota and the 19th keeper of the sacred White Buffalo Calf Woman Pipe and Bundle. He describes the white buffalo calf's appearance as both a blessing and a warning about the natural environment.
About 500 people — including representatives of the Colville Tribes in Washington, Lakota and Sioux in the Dakotas, Northern Arapaho in Wyoming, and Shoshone-Bannock in Idaho — attended the ceremonies at the headquarters of Buffalo Field Campaign between Hebgen Lake and the southern reach of the Madison Range. The conservation group works with tribes to protect and honor wild buffalo.
At most, only a handful of people got a look at the calf soon after its birth June 4. Fewer still got photos to prove its existence. The calf has not been seen since.
Each passing week without a sighting adds to suspicions the calf has fallen victim to predators, river currents, illness or any number of hazards for young buffalo. Regardless, it was an auspicious sign with deep roots in Lakota legend and spiritual belief.
Some 2,000 years ago — when nothing was good, food was running out and bison were disappearing — White Buffalo Calf Woman appeared and presented a bowl pipe and a bundle to a tribal member and said the pipe could be used to bring buffalo to the area for food.
As she left, she turned into a white buffalo calf. She promised to return one day, when times are hard again, as a white buffalo calf with black nose, black eyes and black hooves.
“This is a very momentous time in our history when this white buffalo calf with black nose, black eyes, black hooves is born,” Looking Horse said.
White calves are unusual but not unheard of on buffalo ranches, a result of interbreeding between buffalo and cattle. White bison in nature are another level of rare, with none known in Yellowstone — the continent's largest wild reserve of the animals — in recent memory, if ever.
This calf came after a severe winter in 2023 drove thousands of Yellowstone buffalo to lower elevations. More than 1,500 were killed, sent to slaughter or transferred to tribes seeking to reclaim stewardship over an animal their ancestors lived alongside for millennia.
Jordan Creech, who guides in Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks, was one of a few people who captured images of the white buffalo calf.
Creech was guiding a photography tour when he spotted a cow buffalo about to give birth near the Lamar River. The buffalo disappeared over a hill and the group continued to a place where grizzly bears had been spotted, Creech said.
They returned later and saw the cow with its calf, Creech said. It was clear the calf had just been born, he said, calling it amazing timing.
“And I noted to my guests that it was oddly white, but I didn’t announce that it was a white bison, because, you know, why would I just assume that I just witnessed the very first white bison birth in recorded history in Yellowstone?” he said.
Yellowstone park officials have no record of a white bison being born in the park previously. Park officials have been unable to confirm this month's birth.
Erin Braaten, who also captured images of the white calf, looked for it in the days after its birth but couldn't find it.
“The thing is, we all know that it was born and it’s like a miracle to us,” Looking Horse said." |
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