Pronghorn
Pronghorn are small, native ungulates that can be found across Colorado and are the fastest land mammal in North America.
About This Species
The pronghorn is a unique North American native. It is a mistake to call them "antelope," as the pronghorn's resemblance to those Old World members of the cow family is rather superficial.
In spring and summer, the older, more dominant bucks are solitary and the younger males form bachelor bands of up to 12 individuals. Does with young form small herds. In the winter, there are large herds of mixed sex and age classes. The Pronghorn is extraordinarily fast and can run up to 60 miles per hour. It is considered the fastest animal in the Western Hemisphere.
Just after the turn of the 20th Century, pronghorns were nearly extinct because of unregulated hunting. Today, hunters can purchase licenses to hunt this big game animal, with hunting opportunities in many parts of the state.
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Physical Characteristics
Pronghorn are 3-5 feet in length and 2.5-3 feet tall at the shoulder. No mammal other than the pronghorn has branched horns over a bony core. Males are called bucks and females does, with their young being called fawns. Pronghorn does are the same size, but lighter, than the bucks and have much smaller horns. Bucks have black cheek patches and large horns, which they usually shed the outer sheath of the horn after breeding, and then grow a new one.
Range
The pronghorn is endemic to North America. In Colorado, the best places to view a pronghorn are on the eastern plains, in the larger mountain parks and valleys, and on shrublands west of the mountains.
Habitat
Pronghorn generally live in grasslands and semidesert shrublands on rolling topography that affords good visibility. They are most abundant in shortgrass or mixed grass prairies.
Diet
Pronghorns are largely browsers, subsisting on sagebrush, supplemented by leafy forage in summer. These food habits allow them to persist alongside cattle (and once alongside bison) with little competition. Mostly they feed in early morning and late afternoon, often lying to rest and ruminate at midday.
Reproduction
Pronghorns mate in the fall from mid-September to mid-October, and give birth in late May to mid-June. Does usually give birth to two fawns. Pronghorns have a life span of seven to 10 years.