PRONGHORN ANTELOPE
(Antilocapra americana)
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Tracks
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Mass: 36 to 70 kg
Length: to 6 ft. (1.8 m)
Biomes: temperate grassland, desert. - The pronghorn is found from sea level to 3353m in grassland and desert.
Status: endangered. - A 1920 count estimated that fewer than 20,000 pronghorn remained. Conservation attempts and proper range management have increased this number to 500,000 in the United States and Canada, but the Mexican population, victim to poaching and habitat destruction, remains dangerously small.
Range: Antilocapra americana occurs from southern Alberta and southern Saskatchewan, Canada through the western United States to Hidalgo, Baja California, and western Sonora, Mexico.
Hiker's Note:
Antilocapra americana, the only species within the family Antilocapridae, is unique in its form. Its horns are distinct; they are indeed pronged and consist of a permanent bony core covered by an annually-shed keratinous sheath. The long, woolly undercoat is covered by coarse, brittle hairs. This animal is reddish-brown or tan above and white below. The neck bears a short black mane and two white stripes across its anterior portion. The rump is white. Males have a black mask and black patches on the sides of the neck. Their horns extend past the tips of their ears. Females lack
these black markings and often bear horns; these are rarely pronged and are not longer than the ears.
Antilocapra americana can reach speeds of over 86 km per hour, making it the fastest New World mammal.
Tracks are 2.5 - 3.5 in. (6 - 9 cm.) long and wider at the base than those of the deer. No dew claws are evident.
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