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Pronghorn
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Description: Pronghorn are the smallest ungulates (hoofed mammals)in North America. They are graceful, and fast with a large head and prominent, laterally positioned eyes. Pronghorn appear pale red-brown to tan with a white rump and two broad white bands across the throat. Adult females weigh about 75 to 105 pounds. Adult males stand about three feet tall to the shoulder and weigh 85 to 165 pounds. Males dorsal muzzle surface is often dark, and black jaw patches are visible on the side of the cheeks close to the neck. In spring and summer, the older, more dominant bucks are solitary while the younger males form bachelor bands of up to 12 individuals. Does with young form small herds as well. In the winter, large herds comprised of mixed sexes and ages form. Pronghorn are extraordinarily fast, and can run up to 60 miles per hour which is considered the fasted animal in the Western Hemisphere.
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Habitat
Diet
Reproduction
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Range
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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.
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Habitat
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Pronghorn generally live in grasslands and semidesert shrublands on rolling topography that affords good visibility. They are most abundant in shortgrass or midgrass prairies
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Diet
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Pronghorn eat mostly forbs and brows and occasionally eat cactus and grass. The most common things pronghorn eat are sagebrush and bitterbrush. During the year, antelope seek out green forage and they are often found grazing winter wheat.
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Reproduction
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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 typical lifespan of seven to 10 years.
Related Links:
Colorado Division of Wildlife-Pronghorn
Great Plains Nature Center-Pronghorn
U of M Museum of Zoology-Antilocapra Americana
Canadian Museum of Nature-Pronghorn
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