A rare, beautiful white bison was born this past Tuesday at Bear River State Park in Evanston, Wyoming. The park stretches across 328 acres and houses ten adult bison and five calves. The birth of the white bison is the first time its ever happened at the state park.
According to the National Bison Association, birthing an albino white bison is a one-in-10-million chance. For reference, the odds of being killed by a meteor are 1-in-1.6 million and the odds of being in a plane crash are 1-in-20 million.
So in layman’s terms, the albino white bison is incredibly rare.
Tyfani Sager, the Park’s Superintendent, said that new bison offspring is rather small but is healthy and doing well. The sex of the yet to be named child is unknown, and it has reportedly been up and nursing from its mother, Wyoming Hope.
Sager spoke to Cowboy State Daily about how protective the bison cows are of their young and how it has made it challenging to gather more information about the white bison. She states:
“We’re not sure if it’s a bull calf or a heifer calf. They’re real furry and it’s hard to tell right off the bat.”
The state park in Evanston apparently was given two white bison heifers from Jackson Fork Ranch in Bondurant, Wyoming, and the second heifer isn’t expected to give birth until early next year. As for Wyoming Hope, the mother of the new born, she was bred by one of the bulls that is a resident at Bear River State Park.
When asked about the rarity of the birth considering the dwindling numbers of bison, Sager responded:
“Most of the bison you find anymore have some cattle genetics. They were nearly hunted to extinction by the late 1800s. People got concerned about extinction and cattle inbreeding was used. A white bison birth is still fairly rare.”
I’m sure the little white bison will have quite the fanbase as it gets older. Sager went on to say that those who live near the Bear River State Park will likely be able to get a good look at the newborn from off of the park’s nearly ten miles of trails.
And who knows, maybe it’ll grow up to look like this behemoth one day:
