1-in-10-Million White Buffalo Found Mutilated on Texas Ranch

Officials in Texas are investigating the gruesome death of a rare white buffalo calf found mutilated and skinned on a ranch 50 miles outside of Dallas.

Hunt County Lakota Buffalo Ranch owner Arby Little Soldier told KDFW-TV he and his wife returned from out of town to find the grisly discovery. The calf was considered sacred by some in the Native American community; its mother was also found dead the next day.

According to KDFW, the non-albino white buffalo was given the name Lightning Medicine Cloud in a special ceremony last summer. The odds of a white buffalo birth are reportedly said to be 1 in 10 million.

"My people – my brothers, my sisters – are hurt for what has happened here at this ranch," Little Soldier told the station. "You don't think things like this are going to happen to such a sacred animal, a sacred family."

The Hunt County Sheriff's Office was notified of the incident by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and is conducting an investigation with the help of the Department of Homeland Security and the National Indian Council, KDFW reported.

Little Soldier said the calf's legend will endure at the ranch.

"He was the hope of all nations," he told KDFW. "You have taken the inner spirituality. You tried to stop what we're bringing back to y'all, but you just opened the doors to release the message to all people."

According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the calf's father was killed last month by a lightning strike.