For those of you who have never seen a pronghorn let me introduce you to this fine fellow.
Male Pronghorn in Yellowstone By Jen Heindel
Male and female pronghorn look similar, both have horns, but the easiest way to tell a male and female apart is by looking for a black patch of fur where you could imagine Elvis' lamb-chop sideburns, these are the males. Female's chin is all white no black patch.
Pronghorns are an interesting groups of animals because they are just so different from anything else. Pronghorns are antelope, but they are not like any other antelope on the planet, so scientist put them in a group all by themselves. Pronghorns evolved during a time when we still had very large "prehistoric" like cats roaming the grass lands, so they developed great speed to keep from becoming lunch. Some reports say they have been clocked running at sustained speeds of 60 miles per hour, but most researchers put it a little closer to a little over 50 miles per hour. Now before you get any ideas about challenging a pronghorn to a race with you at the wheel of your car remember this; the pronghorn is the most laidback animal on the planet. Most of the time there are wild animals so unpredictability is their middle name. Fifty miles an hours is fast enough to outrun all of today's predators which roam the plains with them. They are built for great speed, but sadly lack the ability to jump. All the other ungulates (deer, elk, moose) can all jump fences quite easily, but sadly the same is not true for the pronghorn. Put a fence in front of a pronghorn and they will have no choice but to walk the whole fence looking for an open gate.
There is another unique thing about pronghorns which makes them different from all horned animals. Horns are made out of keratin, the same stuff your fingernails are made from, and grow a little bit each year adding on another distinct growth ring. But pronghorns have to be different, they shed their outer sheath of the antler each year. The new horn is actually growing under the part which is falling off.
Pronghorns are the coolest animals found on the prairie.
Female pronghorn on the left, male on the right. By Jen Heindel
For more information:
