Common Name
Antelope
Characteristics
Wt. 90-140 lb (41-64 kg); Shoulder Ht. 35"-40" (89-102 cm); Length 49"-59" (125-150 cm). The pronghorn is unrelated to any other species. It is sometimes referred to as a goat-antelope. The pronghorn has large eyes and excellent eyesight. It can detect movement four miles (6 k) away. Both sexes have horns; female horns are smaller and rarely pronged. The buck's horns are black, oval-shaped and curve inward at the top with a prong about halfway up. The upper body and outside legs are tan to reddish-brown. There are two white bands under the neck. The side of the head and underside of the chin are white. It has a large white rump patch and when alarmed the white rump hairs become erect doubling the size of the rump. The male has a broad black mask from eyes to nose and black patches on the side of the neck next to the cheek. The doe is about 20 percent smaller than the male and has 3"-4" (7.6-10 cm) horns. The pronghorn forms small herds in summer and large herds in winter. The pronghorn is active during the day. It is the fastest land mammal in the Western Hemisphere able to sprint up to 60 mph (97 kph) for 3-4 minutes and cruise at 40-50 mph (64-80 kph).
Habitat
The pronghorn prefers grasslands, open plains, desert scrub, brushlands, sagebrush areas and farms (alfalfa, hay).
Distribution
Southern Saskatchewan and Alberta, the great plains of northcentral and western United States west of the Mississippi, and northern Mexico including Baja.
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