Canyon Country Animals
Mammals: Pronghorn (Antelope)
Scientific Name: Antilocapra americana
Pronghorns are often called antelope, which is a misnomer. True antelope only exist in the Old World. Pronghorn can run up to 40 miles per hour and leap as far as 20 feet in a single bound.
A deer-like animal with very slender legs, chunky body, and long, pointed ears. The color is golden tan, with a prominent white rump patch, white under parts, and white throat bands. The muzzle and horns are black and males (bucks) also have black jaw markings. Both sexes have horns. Weight 75 to 125 pounds; three to three and a half feet in height. The white hair on the rump can be erected and "flashed."
They generally inhabit prairie grasslands, rolling hills, and mesas. They are a medium-large herbivore which feeds on weeds, small shrubs, and grasses. Fawns are born in late spring, usually twins.
Pronghorn (Antilocarpa americana) require large, wide open spaces without human or physical barriers. One study found that they can jump barriers up to 8 feet, but rarely leapt over fences more than 32 inches high. They will be mobile or remain in an area, depending upon water and forage availability. Shrubs, such a sagebrush and cliffrose, are their principle food throughout the year.
Photos
Notes
- The main photo on this page was taken in Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota, in September 2001. The two photos of pronghorn taken in western Utah were along the Pony Express Trail National Backcountry Byway. Blue Mesa is in Petrified Forest National Park.
- We have seen pronghorn in Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, South Dakota, and Idaho.
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