White Beefalo part of zoo offering

A white Beefalo has been added to the Bison Exhibit at the Saskatoon Forestry Farm Park and Zoo. The announcement was made by Saskatoon Tribal Council Chief Felix Thomas, Métis Nation-Saskatchewan President Robert Doucette, Saskatoon Mayor Donald Atchison, White Buffalo Youth Lodge Executive Director Heidi Gravelle, and Office of the Treaty Commissioner of Saskatchewan Commissioner George E. Lafond. A white Beefalo is a Charolais and Bison hybrid that looks similar to a White Buffalo that First Nations and Métis people consider sacred.  The zoo’s white Beefalo is a four-year-old neutered male that came from the Assiniboine Park Zoo in Winnipeg. The addition to the zoo’s Bison Exhibit provides the Saskatoon Forestry Farm Park and Zoo with an opportunity to partner with First Nations and Métis communities to educate the public on the spiritual significance of a white buffalo calf.  Plans are currently in the works to produce an interpretive sign for the exhibit that will tell the traditional Lakota story of the White Buffalo Calf Woman. “The welcoming of this animal to the Saskatoon Zoo is an opportunity to educate the public on First Nations culture, while creating awareness of the work the White Buffalo Youth Lodge does to promote a positive quality of life to all inner city youth in Saskatoon,” said STC Chief Thomas in a news release. The White Buffalo Youth Lodge also announced its First Annual Buffalo Fun Run, which took place on June 22. The ultimate goal of the Buffalo Fun Run is to further the lodge’s mission of improving the quality of life and health for inner city children, youth, young adults and their families.