thumb|250px|right|A white buffalo at the Lee G. Simmons Conservation Park and Safari in [[Ashland, Nebraska. This animal is not a true white buffalo, being Charolais cattle. It is expected that its coat will darken as it matures.]]

A white buffalo or white bison is an American bison possessing white fur, and is considered sacred or spiritually significant in several Native American religions; therefore, such buffalo are often visited for prayer and other religious rituals. The coats of buffalo are almost always brown and their skin a dark brown or black; however, white buffalo can result from one of several physical conditions:

  • They may be albinos, in which case they will remain unpigmented throughout their lives, and may also have hearing and vision problems.
  • They may be leucistic, with white fur but blue eyes, instead of the pink seen in albinos.
  • They may have a rare genetic condition which causes a buffalo to be born white, but to become brown within a year or two as it matures.
  • They may be beefalo, a bison–cattle crossbreed, and thus have inherited the white coloration from their cattle ancestry.

Spiritual significance

The white buffalo is a sacred sign in Lakota and other Plains Indians religions. Chief Arvol Looking Horse is the current keeper of the Sacred White Buffalo Calf Pipe.

The story of the pipe is that,

  • Mahpiya Ska (Sioux language) or White Cloud was an albino female buffalo born on July 10, 1996, at Shirek Buffalo Ranch. After her birth, she was loaned to the city of Jamestown, North Dakota, where she lived out the most of her life. Through genetic testing, she was certified a true Albino American Bison. She died on November 14, 2016, shortly after being returned to her birthplace.
  • White Cloud had a white calf on August 31, 2007, which was named Dakota Miracle. While Dakota Miracle was white like his mother, he was not a true albino. He lived out his entire life at the National Buffalo Museum in Jamestown before dying on June 28, 2019, due to complications from leucism.
  • Spirit Mountain Ranch donated a herd of white buffalo to the Sacred World Peace Church and Alliance,
  • A male white buffalo named Spirit of Peace was born on April 17, 2005, on the Blatz Bison Ranch in Fort St. John, British Columbia. Spirit of Peace died on June 1 of the same year, probably as a result of his premature birth.
  • On May 12, 2011, a white male buffalo calf named Lightning Medicine Cloud (Wakinya Pejuta Mahpiya in Lakota) was born near Greenville, Texas during a thunderstorm on the ranch of Arby Little Soldier.
  • 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 2022, there are eight white buffalo in Sioux Valley.
  • White buffalo can be found in the village of Questa, New Mexico.
  • Ghostbuster, a white female buffalo, was donated to the City of Hays, Kansas in the summer of 2017 by a local rancher.
  • On March 29, 2018, a white female buffalo calf named "Dušanka" was born at the Belgrade Zoo, Serbia. She was named after the Christian holiday of Pentecost.
  • On October 30, 2018, a white buffalo calf was born on Lakota Territorial land.
  • In June 2020, a white buffalo named ‘Faith’ was born at Bitterroot Bison in Lolo, Montana. She was moved to a sanctuary to be kept safe after discovering that she was blind.
  • In December 2020, Wildlife Prairie Park obtained two leucistic white bison from a farm where they were kept as pets: the male Tatanka and female Lakota. Tatanka and Lakota had one offspring in April 2021, Tallulah, who is also white. Tatanka died shortly after showing signs of illness in October 2022. Lakota gave birth to another white bison in February 2023.
  • May 3, 2021, White Buffalo calf Snow Moon was born on Siksika Nation.
  • June 16, 2022, a white buffalo calf was born on the land of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Tribe in Belcourt, North Dakota.
  • June 4, 2024, a white buffalo calf was born in Yellowstone National Park and was photographed a few minutes later by the visitor Erin Braaten. Lakota Sioux chief Arvol Looking Horse said in an interview with the Associated Press "The birth of this calf is both a blessing and warning. We must do more," while Troy Heinert, executive director of the South Dakota–based InterTribal Buffalo Council said that the buffalo appeared genuine as it has a black nose, black hooves and dark eyes.
  • In May 2026, a rare albino male water buffalo raised at the Rabeya Agro Farm in Narayanganj, Bangladesh, went viral on social media. Due to a genetic mutation causing albinism, the animal possessed pinkish skin and a distinct tuft of blonde hair on its forehead, leading its handlers to nickname it "Donald Trump" due to a resemblance to the U.S. president's hairstyle. The animal's sudden international profile prompted satirical commentary from the Iranian embassy in Russia, which utilized the viral footage as a reference to Iran–United States relations. Originally sold on a live-weight basis for approximately 385,000 BDT (weighing 690 kg) to a buyer in Jinjira to be used for the traditional Eid al-Adha sacrifice, the public overcrowding caused by the buffalo's fame eventually prompted a last-minute government intervention. Citing security concerns and the animal's rarity, Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed ordered that the buffalo be spared and the buyer compensated. The animal was subsequently transferred to the Bangladesh National Zoo in Mirpur, Dhaka, under the supervision of the Department of Livestock Services for long-term conservation.

thumb|right|100px|The [[flag of Wyoming]]

  • A white silhouette of a bison is featured in the flag of the state of Wyoming. The bison is the state mammal; it is branded with the Great Seal of Wyoming. White represents purity, uprightness and one of the colors of the United States flag.

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Further reading

  • Pickering, Robert B., Seeing the White Buffalo. Denver Museum of Natural History & Johnson Books. 146 pgs. (hb & pb)., 1997.
  • Miracle, the Sacred White Buffalo
  • White bison calf born on April 17, 2005 in Fort Saint John, British Columbia
  • Tupelo Buffalo Park and Zoo in Tupelo, Mississippi
  • Video of White Cloud and her calf
  • Yvnvssv Hetke dies at Perryman Ranch, 2011