YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. — Yellowstone National Park officials have confirmed multiple sightings of a white bison calf, which was born in Lamar Valley on June 4, 2024.
This “rare natural phenomenon,” according to the Yellowstone National Park website, harkens back to “before the near extinction of bison in the late 19th century, when bison numbered in the tens of millions.”
“The birth of a white bison calf may reflect the presence of a natural genetic legacy that was preserved in Yellowstone’s bison, which has revealed itself because of the successful recovery of a wild bison population of 3,000-6,000 animals,” the National Park Service said in a statement.
Yellowstone’s Center for Resources Bison Management Team received numerous reports and photos of the calf taken on June 4 from park visitors, professional wildlife watchers, commercial guides and researchers. But to date, park staff have been unable to locate the calf, the park service said.
Photos provided to park biologists indicate the calf is leucistic (black eyes and hooves with some pigmentation), rather than an albino animal.
According to the park service:
- The birth of a white bison calf in the wild is a landmark event in the ecocultural recovery of bison.
- The NPS has never reported a white calf being born within Yellowstone National Park.
- The birth of a white bison calf in the wild is believed to occur in 1 in 1 million births or even less frequently.
The Yellowstone website also said “the NPS acknowledges the cultural significance of a white bison calf for American Indians” and added the following:
To American Indians, a White Buffalo Calf is the most sacred living thing on earth. The calf is a sign to begin life’s sacred loop. Some American Indians say the birth of a white calf is an omen because the birth takes place in the most unexpected places and often happens among the poorest of people. 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.
The bison population fluctuates from 3,000-6,000 animals in two subpopulations, defined by where they gather for breeding. The northern herd breeds in the Lamar Valley and on the high plateaus around it. The central herd breeds in Hayden Valley, the park service said.
The 2024 pre-calving bison population is around 4,550. Calving occurs in a single pulse during late spring and early summer. The NPS will complete annual post-calving counts this August.
The following links contain details about bison ecology and bison management in Yellowstone.
Click here for additional information.