Birth of Rare White Buffalo in Yellowstone Fulfills Lakota Prophecy

Esme Mazzeo
·2-min read

The calf was reportedly born in Yellowstone National Park on Tuesday, June 4

<p>Erin Braaten/Dancing Aspens Farm and Photography</p> Rare white buffalo

Erin Braaten/Dancing Aspens Farm and Photography

Rare white buffalo

A rare white buffalo reportedly born in Yellowstone National Park fulfills a Lakota prophecy predicting better times ahead and a need to take better care of the Earth.

The extremely rare buffalo calf — also called a bison — was born on Tuesday, June 4 in the north-eastern corner of the park and captured by photographer Erin Braaten, who was visiting the park and saw the calf moments after its birth. Park officials had not yet seen the calf in person at the time of the Associated Press report.

They could not quantify how rare the birth of a white calf is but didn't have any records of one ever being born in the park before.

The young animal is deemed sacred by many Native American tribes and is sometimes called a  "spirit bison" or "ghost bison," per KTVQ.

<p>Erin Braaten/Dancing Aspens Farm and Photography</p> Rare white buffalo

Erin Braaten/Dancing Aspens Farm and Photography

Rare white buffalo

Related: Bison Calf Killed After It Was 'Disturbed' by Tourist at Yellowstone National Park

Per the Lakota Tribe's legend as reported by the AP, 2,2000 years ago when food was running out in the area and times were bad, a White Buffalo Calf Woman appeared to a tribe member, presenting them with a bowl pipe and a bundle. She also taught the person how to pray and said the pipe could be used to bring food to the area.

When she left, she turned into a white buffalo calf.

“And some day when the times are hard again,” Arvol Looking Horse, the spiritual leader of the Lakota, told the AP, “I shall return and stand upon the earth as a white buffalo calf, black nose, black eyes, black hooves.”

Per photographs Braaten posted to Facebook, the calf born on June 4 appears to have those exact markings.

“The birth of this calf is both a blessing and warning. We must do more,” Looking Horse told the AP. He said that while it means prosperity is ahead, it's also a warning to take better care of the earth.

<p>Erin Braaten/Dancing Aspens Farm and Photography</p> Rare white buffalo

Erin Braaten/Dancing Aspens Farm and Photography

Rare white buffalo

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

"I couldn’t believe what I was seeing," Braaten told KTVQ. "It was so surreal. I just knew it was something special and one of the coolest things I’ve ever photographed."

Per the AP, in 2023 severe weather drove many Yellowstone buffalo that had made the park home to lower elevations, adding to the rarity of the calf's birth.

For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on People.

  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next

Latest stories

  • A heat wave is bringing searing temperatures to New York and the I-95 corridor. Washington DC has hit 100 degrees

    A dangerous heat wave over the eastern US is bringing sweltering temperatrues to much of the US this weekend, including over parts of the Ohio Valley and mid-Atlantic. Meanwhile, a tropical system could develop this weekend through the southwest Gulf of Mexico. Here’s the latest:

  • Relentless deadly rains lash southern China as flooding threatens millions

    Tens of thousands of people across southern China have been evacuated, with many more potentially at risk, as deadly torrential rains continue to lash the region, causing flash flooding and mudslides.

  • 6 Hybrid Vehicles To Stay Away From Buying

    Not all hybrid cars are created equal. While some models offer excellent fuel efficiency, reliability and performance, others fall short. With so many options, it can be tough to separate the good...

  • Israeli sustainable seafood start-up aims to bring cell-based eel unagi to Japan and China

    Israeli alternative protein start-up Forsea aims to bring its cell-based eel unagi to Japan and other Asia-Pacific markets including China and Hong Kong to provide a more sustainable version of an enormously popular dish. Forsea hosted a tasting event showcasing its cell-cultivated freshwater eel unagi at a Japanese restaurant in Tel-Aviv earlier this month, and is in the process of raising funds to launch a commercial pilot plant to bring the product to the Asia-Pacific region where demand for

  • German economy minister urges China to shift from coal power

    HANGZHOU, China (Reuters) -German Economy Minister Robert Habeck said on Sunday that China was indispensable to achieving global climate goals and must find a safe alternative to coal, which accounted for nearly 60% of China's electricity supply in 2023. Officials told Habeck that China was expanding coal production for security reasons, the minister told reporters in the southern city of Hangzhou, the day after meeting Chinese officials in Beijing.

  • Why Mount Rainier is the US volcano keeping scientists up at night

    Scientists fear Washington’s Mount Rainier could trigger a swift debris flow caused by melting snow and ice. An event could endanger nearby populated areas.

  • Russia launches 'massive' attack on Ukrainian power grid

    Several people are wounded after Russia targeted Ukraine's energy network for a second time this week.

  • At least 6 heat-related deaths reported in metro Phoenix so far this year as high hits 115 degrees

    At least six people have died from heat-related causes this year so far in sizzling metro Phoenix, where the temperatures this week hit 115 degrees Fahrenheit (46 Celsius), the Maricopa County Department of Public Health reported this week. Phoenix hit 115 degrees F (46 C) on Thursday and Friday, making them the hottest days of 2024 up to now.. The metro area continued to swelter through an excessive heat warning under a dome of high pressure, with some moisture and a slight cooling possible over the weekend. A heat wave baked most of the United States on Friday, with numerous areas expected to see record-breaking temperatures.

  • British tourists warned to expect extreme weather conditions as heatwaves grip Europe

    Sweltering heatwave sweeps southern Europe as forecasters warn temperatures could “go down in history”

  • Bangladesh hard-hit by climate crisis

    Elisa Raffa reports on why 40 million people in Bangladesh could be displaced by the end of the century by rising water as the country’s coastline is chipped away.

  • UK weather: Heat health alert issued for most of England - with warning of 'significant impacts' in parts of country

    A yellow heat health alert has been issued for most of England as temperatures are set to hit 30C in parts of the country. The alert, issued jointly by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and Met Office, comes into force from Monday morning and remains in place until late Thursday afternoon. The strongest warnings have been given for the East Midlands, the East of England, East Anglia and the South East with the "potential for significant impacts to be observed across the health and social care sector due to the high temperatures".

  • Carbon-capture projects launch in Los Angeles County as CO2 levels reach global records

    Multiple projects seeking to remove carbon dioxide from the air have been launched across Los Angeles County.

  • ‘Catastrophic flooding’ in Upper Midwest prompts evacuations as record-breaking heat wave broils the West and mid-Atlantic

    As thousands across the US – including in New Mexico, Iowa, Minnesota and South Dakota – contend with “catastrophic” flash flooding this weekend, many Americans are still trudging through a record-setting heat wave that is shifting to the Mid-Atlantic. Here’s the latest:

  • Balkans hit by blackouts as heatwave persists

    Albania, Bosnia, Croatia and Montenegro suffer simultaneous power cuts as the region swelters in a heatwave.

  • California lawmakers reject proposal to curb well-drilling where nearby wells could run dry

    California water officials backed a bill to impose restrictions on where wells can be drilled, seeking to protect drinking water sources. Lawmakers rejected it.

  • Thousands march in London to call for 'urgent' climate action

    Thousands of protestors from across the UK marched through central London on Saturday to call for "urgent political action" on nature.The 'Restore Nature Now' march was joined by some 350 charities ranging from protest groups like Just Stop Oil and Extinction Rebellion to more mainstream organisations like the National Trust and WWF.People came from "all over the UK", according to one protestor, with a list of demands including making "polluters pay" and improving support for farmers in an increased "climate-friendly farming budget".The march also called for an Environmental Rights Bill to establish the right to a healthy environment in the next parliament following a general election next month.Protesters weaved down one side of Hyde park in the British capital, marching past Downing street to Parliament square dressed in wildlife-themed costumes and donning quirky headgear and masks.Accompanied by songs, chants of "restore nature now" and more than one drum circle, protestors called for climate change and nature to be prioritised in the election campaign and by the next government.British actor Emma Thompson led the march, saying that her message was for the government to "stop being so deeply, deeply irresponsible".Thompson told AFP at the march that she couldn't believe the "lack of engagement" of political parties during the ongoing election campaign."We’re in the eye of the storm... Everyone cares about the beauty of our islands and we are losing it so fast", she added.She was joined at the front of the procession by wildlife TV presenter and activist Chris Packham, who criticised politicians for "not taking the action that they need to rapidly enough and broadly enough", adding that he was "not terribly impressed" with parties' election manifestos."So we have to stand up and make sure that they understand that we're going to hold them to account", he told AFP.- 'Not enough' -One protestor wanted to see water companies nationalised by the next government.&nbsp;Carrying cut-outs of fish, Frances Dismore from a river restoration group said, "all these cardboard critters that we're carrying today, we've met in person on our river, so we're very much concerned about safeguarding them".Dismore added that the river that she was campaigning for, the River Lea in north-east London and east England, was "impacted by all the issues that all other rivers in England are impacted by."River and water cleanliness has been a hot topic this election, with several sewage spill scandals over the last few years drawing the ire of climate activists.Earlier on the campaign trail, leader of the smaller Liberal Democrats party fell off a paddleboard into a lake to demonstrate the severity of England's sewage crisis.The opposition Labour party, which looks poised to win power this election, has pledged to end new oil and gas exploration licences in the North Sea and create a publicly owned clean energy company called Great British Energy.However, Labour leader Keir Starmer was previously criticised for ditching a pledge to spend £28 billion a year on green infrastructure.The Conservatives' have watered down committments on how they would reach the UK's 2050 net-zero target through pushing back a ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030 to 2050.For Jane Price, who came down with Extinction Rebellion from Stratford-upon-Avon, the timing of the march was a way to tell political parties "we will vote for you if the climate and the ecology is on your agenda.""Everywhere you look", she added "there's not enough being done".aks/cw

  • Why it’s too late to stop World War 3

    Imagine, for a moment, that the Iranian government announces it has developed a nuclear bomb and threatens to use it on Israel. The United States reacts with the threat of military intervention, as it did in 1991 and 2003 in Iraq. Iran signals that it will not tolerate a third Gulf war and looks for allies. American forces mass to enter Iran, which orders national mobilisation. Russia, China and North Korea express their support for Iran, and Washington expands its intervention force, bringing i

  • The US Debt Is Near $1,000,000 Per American: Where the Money Went and Why It Matters to You

    America has a problem: We, as a country, are in a massive money hole. It's one of many issues the nation is currently facing and attempting to figure out a solution forward. While many nations...

  • Israeli soldiers strapped injured Palestinian to jeep after West Bank arrest raid

    Israeli soldiers strapped an injured Palestinian man to the bonnet of a military jeep after an arrest raid in the occupied West Bank. The Israeli military confirmed the incident after a video circulated on social media showing the man tied to the vehicle and being driven around in Jenin on Saturday. Reuters news agency named him as Mujahed Azmi.

  • Amanda Holden, 53, sizzles in tiny bikini during lavish holiday

    Amanda Holden caused quite the meltdown on social media as the Britain's Got Talent judge wowed in a tiny bikini that showcased her beautiful physique