A rare white bison, sacred to Native Americans, has not been seen since its birth on June 4, authorities say

Video above: Yellowstone visitors hope to spot rare white buffalo

Yellowstone National Park officials said Friday that a rare white bison sacred to Native Americans has not been seen since its birth June 4.

The birth of the white bison, which fulfilled a Lakota prophecy foreshadowing better times, was the first recorded in Yellowstone’s history and is a landmark event for the bison’s recovery, park officials said in confirming the birth for the first time.

It is an extremely rare phenomenon: a white buffalo, also known as a bison, is born in the wild once in a million births, or even less frequently, the park said.

It is unclear whether the calf, named Wakan Gli, meaning “Sacred Return” in Lakota, is still alive.

The park’s statement noted that each spring, about one in five calves die shortly after birth due to natural disasters, but officials declined to directly answer questions asking if they thought they were dead.

They confirmed the white buffalo’s birth after receiving photos and reports from several park visitors, professional wildlife observers, commercial guides and researchers. But since June 4, park staff have been unable to find it, and officials are unaware of any other confirmed sightings in the park, one of the last sanctuaries for free-roaming American bison.

Rangers who regularly work in the park’s more accessible areas, as well as in the backcountry, have not seen the animal, park spokesman Morgan Warthin said.

Native American leaders held a ceremony earlier this week to honor the sacred birth of the animal and give it its name. Lakota members warn that the prophecy surrounding the birth of the white buffalo is also a signal that more must be done to protect the land and its animals.

Suspicions about the calf’s fate are growing as weeks have passed without another bison sighting since his birth in the Lamar Valley, a prime wildlife viewing spot in Yellowstone. Young bison can be prey to predators, river currents, disease and other dangers.

Mike Mease, co-founder of the Buffalo Field Campaign, a conservation group that works with tribes to protect and honor wild buffalo and which organized this week’s ceremony, said he believes the calf is alive somewhere in the park, away from the roads and walkways most visitors keep to. He said a grizzly bear seen by Yellowstone visitors earlier this month with five cubs, an unusually large brood, also has not been seen since.

But the most important thing about the white buffalo is that a prophecy, which is both a warning and a blessing, has been fulfilled, Mease said.

“Whether dead or alive, the message has been relayed from the heavens and times are different now. We need to make changes for the future,” he said.