GILLETTE, Wyo. — After multiple credible sightings, Yellowstone National Park staff have confirmed that a white bison calf was born in Yellowstone National Park’s Lamar Valley on June 4, according to a park release.
According to the release, Yellowstone’s Center for Resources Bison Management Team has been sent multiple photos of the calf from visitors, professional wildlife watchers, guides and researchers. However, park officials have not been able to locate the calf themselves as of yet.
The park release added that there have not been any reported sightings since June 4. Photos sent to park biologists indicate that the calf is leucistic, not albino. This means that it keeps its black eyes and hooves as well as some minor pigmentation.
Also included in the park release is a breakdown of this phenomenon’s significance.
The birth of a white bison calf was a rare occurrence before the near extinction of the species in the late 19th century, according to the release. This calf may suggest the presence of a natural genetic legacy preserved in the bison populations of Yellowstone, which has only revealed itself due to the group’s recovery.
According to the release, a white bison calf birth has never been reported in the history of Yellowstone National Park.
“The birth of a white bison calf in the wild is a landmark event in the ecocultural recovery of bison by the National Park Service,” the release stated.
The Park Service added that a birth of this kind is likely a one-in-a-million chance, could perhaps happen even more rarely than that and is of cultural significance to Native American populations.
