A rare white bison spotted in Yellowstone National Park has left social media users astonished.
Erin Breton, an outdoor photographer from Kalispell, Montana, captured the animal on camera.
“It was pretty amazing,” he told USA Today on Tuesday, adding that he initially thought it was a coyote or something. “It just seemed really weird that it was there and we were stuck in traffic. And so I pulled out my camera and looked back and found out that it was actually a white bison calf that had just been born.”
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His family was about 100 yards away from the bison, across a river that was flowing very fast.
“They were able to experience it as well,” he said. “It was a really wonderful, magical time for all of us.”
Breton said she brought her camera with her that day because she was in Yellowstone. She usually keeps it with her whenever she is in the area because she never knows what she will see. She has also seen a lot of bears in the area.
He said that he often sees cows and bison in this area. However, this is the first time he has seen a white bison.
A white bison was born in Wyoming last spring
This isn’t the first time Bison has been in the news recently.
Last spring, a white bison was born at Bear River State Park in Evanston, Wyoming.
Calling the new member “a little white ball,” the white calf was born alongside four reddish-brown bison calves. The white bison calf is the first one born in the 32-year-old park’s history.
How do rare bison get their white color?
White bison look the way they normally do due to albinism and other causes. LeucismConditions that can turn an animal’s fur, hair, skin or feathers white, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. These conditions are caused by a lack of cellular pigments.
Leucism can cause the entire animal to appear white, or just spots. Albino animals usually have pink eyes, while leucistic animals do not have pink eyes.
White bison are usually albinoLeucistic, which means they have white fur with blue eyes, or the Beefalo, a bison-cattle hybrid breed.
According to the African Safari Wildlife Park, Native Americans consider the white bison sacred. In fact, a social media user on Instagram found the photographer’s post about the white bison and also responded to it. “Thank you for these photos,” the Instagram user wrote. “You can’t imagine the importance of this to us Lakota As a nation.”
White bison are so rare that it is estimated there is only one each year. 10 million bison birthsAccording to the African Safari Wildlife Park.
These animals can weigh anywhere from 701 pounds to 2,200 pounds and can be 5 to 6 feet tall. The safari park states on its website that white bison can live up to 15 years in the wild or 25 years in captivity.
The photographer got a chance to see a rare bison with his family
Bratton, who recently photographed a white bison calf in Yellowstone National Park, is a mother of eight children ranging in age from 16 to 30. Her three youngest children were with her that day.
His family had been camping for a week and each day, they went to different parts of the park. They were in the Lamar Valley, where people often see wolves and different animals. They saw a white bison on their first day.
She said she was a bit surprised by the response to her photos.
He lives near Glacier National Park and first developed a passion for photography taking pictures of his family and his family’s farm.
“I started out photographing landscapes and then wildlife,” he said. “People enjoyed them and so it just kind of grew … it’s a great therapy.”
Keep up with Braaten’s photography www.facebook.com/DancingAspensPhotography And www.instagram.com/dancing_aspens_photo,
Contributor: Camille Fine
Selene Martin is a reporter for USA TODAY’s NOW team. She’s from Norfolk, Virginia – 757. Follow her on Twitter@sleenmartin or email himsdmartin@usatoday.com,
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