Pronghorn

Pronghorn herds roam sagebrush plains, shortgrass prairies, and desert basins from southern Canada to northern Mexico. Despite the nickname “antelope,” they belong to their own family, Antilocapridae, with no close living relatives outside North America. Adults stand about one meter tall at the shoulder, with tan coats, white bellies, and striking white rumps that flash when alarmed. Both males and females grow keratinous horns with forward-pointing prongs, though female horns are shorter. Unlike deer antlers, pronghorn horns have a permanent bony core covered by a sheath that sheds each year.

Pronghorn are famous for speed. Enlarged windpipes, huge lungs, and hearts nearly twice the size expected for their body mass deliver oxygen efficiently to working muscles. Elastic tendons in their limbs store and release energy, enabling sprints up to 98 kilometers per hour and sustained runs over long distances. These adaptations evolved alongside now-extinct predators like the American cheetah. Even today, pronghorn rely on speed and wide-open sightlines to evade coyotes, wolves, and mountain lions.

Feeding habits follow the seasons. In spring and early summer, pronghorn graze lush forbs and grasses, while in winter they browse sagebrush and other shrubs poking above the snow. A four-chambered stomach allows them to digest tough desert plants. They typically form mixed herds outside the breeding season, sometimes numbering in the hundreds during winter migrations. Autumn brings the rut: dominant bucks establish territories and gather harems of does, displaying by lowering horns, snorting, and erecting the white hair along their spines.

Females usually give birth to twins after a 7–8 month gestation. Fawns are born in secluded depressions and spend the first week lying motionless, relying on spotted coats and minimal scent to avoid detection. Within two weeks they can outrun humans, and by one month they rejoin nursery groups watched by several mothers. Adults may live more than ten years, although harsh winters and deep snow can limit survival by covering food plants.

Modern threats include highway fences that block migrations, energy development that fragments sagebrush habitat, and invasive grasses that alter fire patterns. Conservationists work with ranchers to modify fences so pronghorn can crawl underneath, preserve corridors such as Wyoming’s “Path of the Pronghorn,” and plan wind or gas projects around critical winter ranges. Citizen scientists assist by reporting roadkill hotspots, photographing herd movements, and planting native shrubs along degraded streambanks. Classroom lessons can compare human athletic records to pronghorn speeds or test aerodynamic designs inspired by their tapered bodies.