Hear
The reported birth of a rare white buffalo in Yellowstone National Park fulfills one prophecy of the Lakota Native American peoplewhich heralds better times, although it also warns that it could be a sign that one should do more to protect the earth and its animals.
“The birth of this calf is both a blessing and a warning. We must do more,” said the Chief Arvol Looking Horse, spiritual leader of the Lakota, Dakota and Nakota Oyate, in South Dakota; and the nineteenth guardian of the sacred White Buffalo Calf Woman’s Pipe and Bundle, in an interview with AP.
The arrival of this sacred animal occurs after Severe winter in 2023 will drive thousands of buffalo out of Yellowstonealso known as bison, at lower elevations. More than 1500 were killedsent to the slaughterhouse or transferred to native peoples seeking to regain care of an animal with which their ancestors lived for millennia.
Erin Braaten of Kalispell, a town located on the banks of the Flathead River in Montana, took several photographs of the calf shortly after its birth on June 4, in the Lamar Valley, in the northeast corner of the park. Both he and his family were visiting the park when They saw “something really white” among a herd of bisonAcross the river.
Traffic ended up stopping while the bison crossed the street, so Braaten took his camera out the window to get a closer look with zoom. “I look and it’s this white bison calf. AND I was totally, totally stunned.“, revealed.
For the Lakota, The birth of a white buffalo calf with black nose, eyes and hooves is similar to the second coming of Jesus ChristLooking Horse added.
Lakota legend says that about 2000 years agowhen nothing was good, the food was running out and the bison were disappearing, The White Buffalo Baby Woman appeared, presented him with a pipe and a package to a member of the village, he taught him to pray and said that the pipe could be used to bring buffaloes to the area to feed. When leaving, He became a white buffalo calf.
“And someday, when times get tough again“Looking Horse explained when recounting the legend, “I will return and I will be on earth like a white buffalo calf, black nose, black eyes, black hooves.”
Troy Heinertexecutive director of the South Dakota-based InterTribal Buffalo Council, said the breeding in Braaten’s photos looks like a real white buffalo because it has a black nose, black hooves and dark eyes.
“From the photographs I’ve seen, that calf appears to have those traits,” Heinert said firmly.
Jim Matheson, executive director of the National Bison Association, couldn’t quantify how rare the calf is. “Far as I know, No one has ever traced the birth of white buffaloes throughout history.. So I’m not sure how we can determine how often does it occur”.
In addition to animal herds on public lands or overseen by conservation groups, about 80 Native villages across the United States have more than 20,000 bisona figure that has been growing in recent years.
In and around Yellowstone, the killing or removing large numbers of bison occurs almost every winter, under an agreement between federal and Montana agencies, which has limited the size of the park’s herds to about 5,000 animals. Yellowstone officials last week proposed a slightly larger population of up to 6,000 bison, with a final decision expected next month.
But Montana ranchers have long opposed increasing the Yellowstone or transfer the animals to the native americans. The Republican governor Greg Gianforte has said it would not support any management plan with a target population greater than 3,000 Yellowstone bison.
Heinert sees the birth of the calf as a reminder “that we should live well and treat others with respect.” “I hope the calf is safe and lives the best it can. in Yellowstone National Park, exactly where it should be,” concluded the specialist.
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