A rare white American buffalo calf, considered sacred to some indigenous peoples, has not been seen since its birth earlier this month, Yellowstone National Park confirmed.
In a June 28 statement from the national park, officials said the calf has not been seen since it was born in Lamar Valley on June 4, noting that staff “have been unable to locate” the animal.
Yellowstone officials did not respond to TODAY.com’s request for comment on whether they believe the calf is still alive. In the statement, officials noted that one in five bison calves dies each spring “shortly after birth due to natural disasters.”
Before the calf’s birth, no white buffalo had ever been reported to have been born in Yellowstone. The incredibly rare birth of a white buffalo in the wild occurs once in 1 million births, national park officials said in the statement.
For some of the Native American population, the birth of the buffalo calf was both a blessing and a warning to the world.
‘I never thought this would happen in our generation’ Chief Arvol looking horsesaid the spiritual leader of the Lakota, Dakota and Nakota Oyate in an interview that aired on TODAY on June 27.
Looking Horse said the birth is believed to be the second coming of the White Buffalo Calf Woman, who first appeared thousands of years ago when buffalo were scarce and people were hungry, NBC News reported. She taught Lakota people to pray and honor the earth, promising to one day return as a white buffalo calf with black eyes, nose and hooves.
On June 26, indigenous groups burned sage, sang songs and danced during a ceremony at the national park to celebrate the calf’s birth, NBC News reported, during which the calf’s name was revealed: Wakan Gli, or Sacred Return.
“It’s a warning to us to do something,” Looking Horse told TODAY.
Looking Horse had hoped that the White Buffalo Calf Woman would not return during his lifetime, as NBC News reported that this would be a sign that the world needed healing. When a white calf was born in Wisconsin in 1994, he recalled feeling awe and fear as scientists began to speak out about climate change.
“Every time I think about it, it brings tears to my eyes because this shouldn’t happen in our time and yet it did,” Looking Horse told TODAY.
Looking Horse also shared the lesson we could learn from the birth: “Mother Earth is sick and has a fever. And right now, this is a spiritual awakening.”
According to NBC News, the calf was first photographed on June 4, when guide Jordan Creech was leading visitors through the park and came across the herd with a new arrival.
After taking the photo, Creech showed the photo to his boss, who told him it was a white buffalo.
“That’s not like an unusual white bison calf,” Creech recalled his boss telling him on TODAY. “That’s a white bison.”
“It seemed surreal that I was so lucky to be one of maybe a dozen people who had pictures of this thing, and I don’t think it’s been seen since,” Creech added.
This article was originally published on TODAY.com
