Snowflake, the Albino Bighorn

Come out to see our newest collection to the Center!

The rarest of all wildlife in North America, an albino bighorn sheep
known as “Snowflake,” called the Wind River Canyon home. Ancient
cultures consider the albino to be a great sign of power. The albino bighorn
sheep is considered to be a one-in-a-million sheep; there may never be
another.

In 2013, Lynette Sissy O’Neil Ferris, an Eastern Shoshone Tribal
Member drew one of two bighorn ram tags in the Wind River canyon. At the
beginning of her hunt, she was set on a trophy ram, not realizing how rare
the albino sheep was. Midway through her hunt, she began researching
about the albino bighorn sheep and went to her grandmother for guidance.
Her grandmother, a descendant of the Sheep Eater People, gave Lynette
her blessing to hunt the albino ram. He was harvested on November 18,
2013 and is in his forever home here at the National Bighorn Sheep Center.

Project Snowflake was funded by the Wyoming Wild Sheep Foundation.

Photo by: Amanda Verheul