Frosty, Oklahoma’s buffalo, is special not only because of her pearly white fur, but also because of her pure genetics.
Frosty has lived on the Quapaw Nation, also known as O-Gah-Pah, since he was a young bison, and over the past four years he has inadvertently become a visitor to the area. A must-see attraction for tourists.
Frosty’s journey begins when his owners prepare to move from their Missouri ranch to New Mexico and need a place to house him. When the tribal council heard about him, they said, hey, we’d really like to have him join us. Mitch Albright, director of cattle agriculture and a member of the Quapaw Nation, told USA TODAY ” shared this.
After some genetic testing and discussion, they ended up purchasing him. The committee was interested in having Frosty be part of the herd because of his very unusual coat color, as most bulls have dark brown-black fur.
You don’t see a lot of white bison, it just doesn’t happen. Especially someone like him. He actually carries a dominant white gene and is genetically pure. Albright said they found no cow DNA.
Albright said the rarity of bulls like Frosty, coupled with the cultural change in white representation, made the decision an easy one.
Albright said change is coming, change has already happened, change was happening when we purchased this animal. He was referring to a change in leadership on the Quapaw Nation after 22 years on the same business council.
Here’s what we know.
What makes frost so rare?
There is an inaccurate statistic that states that the chance of a white bison being born is 1 in 10,000,000, and this statistic is incorrectly attributed to the National Bison Association.
The association clarified in June that the NBA had mistakenly believed this estimate for at least 15 years and that it was simply untrue.
In fact, we don’t know about the white bison’s presence at all because, as far as I know, no one has been tracking it,” writes the NBA’s Jim Matheson.
Frosty is rare because of its cultural significance.
According to the National Park Service, a “very sacred” story known as the legend of the “White Buffalo Cow Girl,” or “Ptesan Wi,” is important to the Sioux, Cherokee, Navajo, Lakota and Several tribes, including the Dakota, are of great significance.
The birth of a white buffalo calf, considered “the most sacred creature on earth,” signals that their prayers have been heard and prophetic promises are being fulfilled, the park service wrote.
“The calf marks the beginning of the sacred cycle of life,” the Park Service said. “Some American Indians say the birth of a white calf is an omen because its birth occurs in the most unexpected places, often among the poorest among people.”
The animal’s birth is considered sacred because it brings hope and is a sign that better times are to come, the Park Service writes.
Where did Frosty’s name come from?
Frosty was named by a former tribal council member.
This particular congresswoman coined his name when she first met him one cold morning. Albright said she told me his winters were covered with frost and decided to call him “Frost.”
What does genetic innocence mean?
Albright said bison or buffalo are genetically pure and do not have any cow DNA.
Many years ago, several groups introduced beef to bison herds because of the animals’ ability to withstand storms. Especially in severe weather such as snowstorms. They thrive in storms. Albright said they were actually facing a storm.
Their bovine counterparts run until they run out of energy, Albright said. The solution seemed to be to breed the two animals together in the hope that the bison’s resilience would be carried over to its offspring.
Albright said despite the high bison production, birthing complications ensued.
To Albright, the genetic purity of animals is a way to protect the culture and its integrity, as much as it protects the tribe itself, Albright said.
Albright said the ongoing goal is to make everything as authentic as possible.
How does Frosty spend his days?
Frosty walks every day on his ranch, known as Frosty’s Sanctuary.
He rode his own herd and also roamed with two other bulls we received from Yellowstone National Park. The three bulls were riding on a group of oxen. We call it the “Western Herd,” Albright said.
Albright’s team made Frosty more invisible in an attempt to protect him, saying they had some stupid shit happen to people as they walked through the pasture and fence.
You know, of course we wanted to show Frosty. “We want people to see how majestic he really is, but we also want to keep the bison’s life as normal as possible,” Albright said.
Frosty is also a father, giving birth to six identical white calves. Albright said they typically do not perform genetic testing on animals born into the Quapaw because all animals are already genetically pure.
The only time they do this is when they receive animals from national parks.
What should people know about American bison?
The best way to learn about the American bison species is to take the time to learn more about them.
According to the National Park Service, bison have lived in harmony with humans on the Great Plains for hundreds of years and have integrated into the lives of the Native Americans who lived in the area.
Food, clothing, shelter and even tools came from bison. White hunters and traders in the 1800s ended the practice, driving the species to the brink of extinction, the Park Service writes. According to the Park Service, an estimated 60 million bison once roamed the Great Plains.
The species has not become extinct thanks to conservation efforts and the bison protection laws that began during the administration of President Theodore Roosevelt. According to the Park Service, there are currently 500,000 bison in North America, both publicly and privately owned.
Bison are a keystone species. Bison is the pinnacle of improving everything on earth. They add to everything above ground, from genetic diversity to biodiversity to microbiology. When that increases, all other animals and species thrive, Albright said.
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