Pam Panchak, Post-Gazette A rare white buffalo, born Nov. 12 at a private zoo in Fayette County, approaches its mother in their enclosure last week. Female buffaloes are fiercely protective of their calves; these two are never more than a few feet apart. Click photo for larger image.

It doesn't exactly stand out in a crowd, surrounded as it is by animals that are much more exotic, including the ostrich, the emu and the camel that are its next-door neighbors.

Born Nov. 12 in Fayette County, it is small and white. From a distance, it looks like a goat or, maybe, a newborn cow.

It's a buffalo. There's nothing rare or exotic about that. But a white buffalo is rare, indeed, and special to American Indians, who have been telephoning and e-mailing from all over the country.

Some plan to attend a Dec. 23 naming ceremony for the calf that will be held at its birthplace, the Woodland Zoo in Farmington.

One in 10 million buffaloes is white, said Dr. Wynne R. Brown, who is involved in planning the ceremony. Dr. Brown, who lives near Farmington, is a medical doctor and a practitioner of natural medicine and acupuncture.

"The appearance of the white buffalo signifies the return of the White Buffalo Calf Woman," said Dr. Brown, who calls herself "a rainbow," with at least five ethnic groups in her background, including Cherokee and Irish.

Many tribes of American Indians believe the buffalo woman is a prophetess who can teach people to communicate with the creator.

The birth of a white buffalo "is a unique opportunity across the nation for healing to occur," Ms. Brown said. "The name of the buffalo must reflect that."

American Indians are submitting names for the calf. Sonny and Jill Herring, owners of the zoo, are considering them. The 5,000-member Lenape nation, indigenous to the Fayette County area, is especially interested in the calf and the coming ceremonies.

It was Sonny Herring who found the calf when he went out early Nov. 12 to feed the two female buffaloes at the zoo. He thought that, perhaps, a goat from the petting zoo had gotten into the pen. As he got closer, he realized that the calf looked much like other buffalo calves that had been born there.

"Buffalo usually breed in the fall and give birth in the spring," said Mr. Herring, who has no explanation as to why this calf was born in November. The calf's mother gave birth in the spring last year, producing a dark-brown calf.

The white buffalo is not an albino, and is the result of a rare recessive gene that both parents must possess. The calf lives in a large, fenced enclosure with his mother and another buffalo cow. The bull that produced the white calf was shipped to a large buffalo farm in Washington County "because he was getting too hard to handle and was tearing up his enclosure," Mr. Herring said.

The two cows stay close to the calf, keeping a wary eye on people, including the Herrings, who feed them. The calf can be difficult to see because the 800- to 1,000-pound cows try to shield the calf from view.

They herd him as far as possible from visitors and photographers. In the wild, adult buffaloes circle around the calves to shield them from predators.

"I wouldn't want to try to get in there when they have a calf," Mr. Herring said.

While the white buffalo calf is rare and special, it isn't particularly entertaining. On a recent dry sunny day, with temperatures in the 40s, all three buffaloes merely stood around.

Buffaloes are not particularly frisky. They graze or sleep all day, though the calf occasionally will jump and play a bit, Mr. Herring said.

The Herrings have been operating their zoo for 20 years. It's their full-time job, and they care for 150 to 200 animals, including three bears, two wolves and a variety of deer, including two white-tailed deer that are solid white. The Herrings' sons, D.J., 26, and Bob, 22, work part time at the zoo.

The work never ends, Mr. Herring said with a chuckle.

"I don't know a single animal that believes in Christmas, and they don't like or care about the Steelers. But I grew up on a dairy farm not far from here. I'm glad I got the animal-loving gene, but I'm glad I got out of the dairy business. This is easy compared to that."

The zoo is open to the public year-round, and there are lighted displays for nighttime viewing during the holiday season. See www.woodlandzoo.net for further information, including operating hours and directions, or call 724-329-8664.