TAKE A CLOSE-UP LOOK AT ONE OF THE WORLD’S FASTEST ANIMALS and WYOMING ICON

Tom Reichner at shutterstock.com 4 BARNYARDS & BACKYARDS Abby Perry form of fat for demanding times like he pronghorn is a Wyoming the end of gestation and lactation. icon. Other animals are considered in- T They use their long hair to com- Its image appears on business come breeders. They use energy as municate danger to other members signs, public art, and even agency they acquire it, and have much less of the herd. They raise the hair on emblems, and hearing Wyomingites energy stored; some do not store their rump as a warning of danger, a brag there are more pronghorn in energy at all. characteristic that has, perhaps, con- Wyoming than people is not uncom- Pronghorn are in-between capital tributed to their survival. Pronghorn mon. We love that over half of the and income breeders, but likely fall are the last remaining species of their worldwide pronghorn population is more on the income breeder side of family, Antilocpridae, and are most within the state. the spectrum. They have very few closely related to giraffes. Pronghorn populations no longer fat stores, which is interesting con- Pronghorn horns have branches exceed the population of Wyoming. sidering some of their reproductive and have a bony core like a true horn, Numbers have decreased significant- characteristics. but they also have a branching horn ly over the last couple of decades and Pronghorn invest more highly in sheath that is shed every year like an are close to 400,000. There are now reproduction than any other ungulate. antler. Male pronghorn are adorned a third more people in the state than The gestational period for pronghorn with full-sized horns, but a significant pronghorn antelope. About the Pronghorn People know they are fast and see well, but how fast and how well? Pronghorn can detect movement up to 4 miles away. The human equiva- lent to a pronghorn’s amazing eye- sight is looking through an 8-power pair of binoculars.

Exceptional eyesight and the abil- Pictureguy at shutterstock.com ity to spot predators from miles away portion of the female population also is longer than other ungulates of simi- is their first line of defense. There has horns. However, female horns lar size, approximately 250 days. The are not a lot of places to hide on the have more of the true horn character- pronghorn twinning rate is nearly 100 wide-open prairie, and many pairs istics, as they do not usually branch, percent, and those twins account for of eyes are better than one, which is and do not typically grow past their almost 16 percent of the adult female one of the many benefits of strong ears. pronghorn’s body weight. That is like herding instincts. an average-size woman giving birth to A pronghorn can run up to 60 Energy Storage Survival 12-pound twins. Pronghorn fawns, on miles per hour, which makes them Pronghorn, although still con- average, gain about a half pound per the second-fastest land animal in the sidered ungulates, vary greatly from day. By the fall, telling the difference world (cheetah – 61 mph). Although other ungulates in how they use between fawns and adult pronghorn second to the cheetah, the pronghorn and store energy. Most animals fall can be difficult, while it is much easi- can sustain its speed for much longer. into two different categories of en- er to distinguish fawns from adults in While trying to evade predators, they ergy storage and breeding strategy. other ungulate species. run, and when pronghorn must resort There are capital breeders, like most to their last line of defense, they run ungulates, who store energy in the together as a herd.

WINTER 2017 5 moosehenderson at shutterstock.com Tens of millions of Tens pronghorn once roamed North America. Numbers dropped to about 13,000 worldwide. With only around 2,000 by left in Wyoming 1906, the pronghorn was going the way of the bison. An eleventh- hour commitment to hunting regulation and management reversed its fate. By 1984, the pronghorn population at peaked in Wyoming that 600,000. Today, number is around 400,000. - Because pronghorn are a truly migration corridor, which helps pro migration corridor, tect the pronghorn and other animals that also use this route to migrate. - In the fall of 2012, pronghorn immedi ately took to the completed Wyoming wild- Department of Transportation life overpass on Highway 191 west and continue to use of Pinedale it. The overpass eliminated a deadly crossing from their ancient course. icon, they con- unique Wyoming tinue to be the subject of many on-going research projects, hoping to aid in their success in the state of Wyoming. graduate Thanks to Adele Reinking, research assistant in the Department of Ecosystem Science and Management, for the inspiration to take a closer look at one of our speediest residents. - - - - BACKYARDS - - & Pronghorn often manage the Pronghorn There are a few options to in- There are a few options Other strategies include reducing Having sufficient forage is crucial forage is Having sufficient BARNYARDS BARNYARDS 6 can provide all swift, quick, nimble, tenacious, tough. Abby Perry Speedy, vast landscape. The the adjectives to describe pronghorn on Wyoming’s Extension educator serves southeast Wyoming University of Wyoming and can be reached at (307) 328-2642 or [email protected]. Helping Hand from Man seasonal forage availability problem in a different way -- they move. Some migrate ap pronghorn in Wyoming proximately 170 miles from the Upper Green River Basin to Grand Teton The migration route National Park. is the longest in the lower 48 by any land animal. The route crosses four pub major rivers, private property, lic land, and urban areas with lots of cars. The migration route also be came the first federally designated Helping the Pronghorn Helping the Pronghorn crease forage availability for prong times change their diet to include times change their forbs. If they can- more shrubs than forage, their not consume enough which body condition deteriorates, or a significant can result in death rates. decrease in fawning horn during drought. Pronghorn prefer to go under fences rather Wildlife friendly fencing than over. is a common management strategy that can allow pronghorn to move to foraging areas in times higher-quality of drought. stocking rates for domestic animals that compete directly with prong horn, building an overpass on their migration route to help mitigate urban effects, and supplemental feeding. Most management strategies are survival. and do not guarantee costly, to survival. This makes pronghorn This makes to survival. con- To to drought. very susceptible pronghorn some tend with drought, Contend with Drought, Fierce Fierce Drought, with Contend Winters