Stock Photo by Steven Holt, Copyright 1999. All Rights Reserved
Image # 180
Pronghorn adult female with twins suckling, Arapaho National Wildlife Refuge, Colorado. Unique to North America, Pronghorn Antelopes are the fastest terrestrial mammals on
the continent, clocked at speeds of over 50 miles per hour. Highly visual, they can
sense motion from over four miles away and signal danger by flashing the white hairs
on their rumps. Well adapted to their grassland and desert habitats, pronghorns eat
sagebrush, weeds, cacti and grasses and survive harsh winters by digging out snow
covered vegetation with their front hooves. Before the arrival of European settlers, an
estimated 35 million antelope roamed the North American prairies and sagebrush
plains. By the early 1900's, fewer than 20,000 remained. Concerned naturalists and
sportsmen successfully lobbied for the establishment of protected breeding grounds
and helped save both the pronghorn and bison from extinction. Pronghorns can now be
seen in much of their original range but remain vulnerable to habitat fragmentation
caused by roads, fences and land development.
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