White buffalo facts for kids
A white buffalo or white bison is an American bison with white fur. These rare animals are very special and important in several Native American religions. People often visit them for prayers and other spiritual ceremonies.
Buffalo usually have brown fur and dark skin. But white buffalo can happen for a few different reasons:
- They might be albinos. This means they have no color pigment at all. Their eyes are often pink, and they might have trouble seeing or hearing.
- They could be leucistic. This means they have white fur but blue eyes, not pink ones like albinos.
- They might have a rare genetic condition. They are born white but turn brown within a year or two as they get older.
- They could be a beefalo. This is a mix between a bison and a cow. They might get their white color from their cow family.
White buffalo are super rare! Experts believe that only about one in every 10 million buffalo births results in a white buffalo.
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Why White Buffalo Are Special
The white buffalo is a very sacred sign in Lakota and other Plains Indian religions. Chief Arvol Looking Horse helps care for the Sacred White Buffalo Calf Pipe, which is a very important spiritual item.
The story goes that many, many years ago, a beautiful spirit called White Buffalo Calf Woman brought the Sacred Pipe to the people. She taught them seven sacred ways to live and how to respect Mother Earth. When she left, she turned into a young, beautiful white buffalo calf and walked away. This is how she got her name.
This story is also a prophecy, which is like a prediction for the future. White Buffalo Calf Woman said she would return as a white buffalo calf. Her return would be a blessing and a warning. When a white buffalo appears, it means big changes are coming to the Earth. Many people, including Chief Arvol Looking Horse, believe these changes are about the environmental problems we see today. If people don't live in harmony with the Earth, there could be trouble. But if everyone works together and respects the Earth, there will be blessings.
Famous White Buffalo
Many white buffalo have been born over the years, and some have become quite famous!
Historical White Buffalo
- In 1833, the Cheyenne people killed a white bison during a huge meteor shower. They wrote a peace and trade agreement on its skin.
- On October 7, 1876, a buffalo hunter named J. Wright Mooar killed a white buffalo in Texas. He kept the hide his whole life, even though Teddy Roosevelt reportedly offered him a lot of money for it!
- A famous bison named Big Medicine (born 1933, died 1959) was born in the wild in Montana. He was named "Big Medicine" because white bison are seen as having special power. After he passed away, his body was preserved and is now shown at the Montana Historical Society in Helena, Montana.
More Recent White Buffalo
- A female white buffalo named Miracle was born in Wisconsin on August 20, 1994. Her fur turned brown as she grew up. She had four calves before she died naturally in 2004.
- Medicine Wheel, a white buffalo, was born on May 9, 1996, on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota.
- Miracle Moon (born April 30, 1997) is a female white buffalo whose DNA tests show she is 100% buffalo. She has had several white calves herself, including Rainbow Spirit, Mandela Peace Pilgrim, and Arizona Spirit.
- The Tupelo Buffalo Park and Zoo in Mississippi has a white buffalo bull named Tukota.
- A male white buffalo named Spirit of Peace was born in British Columbia on April 17, 2005. Sadly, he died a short time later.
- A female white buffalo calf named Cante Pejute (which means Medicine Heart in the Lakota language) was born in Kentucky on June 3, 2005.
- A male white buffalo named Blizzard was born in March 2006. He was moved to the Assiniboine Park Zoo in Winnipeg, Manitoba, because of his spiritual importance to Indigenous people.
- Lightning, also known as Kenahkihinén (meaning 'Watch Over Us' in the Lenape language), is a male white buffalo born on November 12, 2006, at Woodland Zoo in Pennsylvania.
- On May 12, 2011, a white male buffalo calf named Lightning Medicine Cloud was born in Texas during a thunderstorm. Sadly, he died less than a year later from a bacterial infection.
- On June 16, 2012, a white male buffalo calf was born in Connecticut. He was named Yellow Medicine Dancing Boy in a special ceremony.
- On May 7, 2016, a white buffalo mother gave birth to a white male buffalo calf at Sioux Valley Dakota Nation in Manitoba. As of 2019, there are five white buffalo in Sioux Valley.
- Ghostbuster, a white female buffalo, was given to the City of Hays, Kansas, in 2017.
- On March 29, 2018, a white female buffalo calf named Dušanka was born at the Belgrade Zoo in Serbia.
- In June 2020, a white buffalo named Faith was born at Bitterroot Bison in Lolo, Montana.
