Pronghorn in Yellowstone National Park

While most people would associate the prairie with the American Bison, the most characteristic large mammal of the Great Plains is the Pronghorn. Pronghorns are true American natives, found nowhere else in the world. they have roamed the plains and deserts of North America for at least the last million years in substantially the same form. One can truly call this animal unique: he is the lone member of his family, Antilocapra americana, which literally means the "American goat-antelope."
The Pronghorn's speed and its remarkable eyesight are adaptations for life on the prairie. It needs to be able to spot predators such as coyotes and wolves as far away as possible. And, since there is no cover for it to hide in, it needs to be able to outrun any predators that manage to sneak within striking range. It can do both easily: it is the fastest land mammal in the world. It can sprint as fast as 60 mph and can sustain a speed of 30 mph for miles! The African Cheetah is often credited with being the fastest, but it is only a sprinter who flags out after a few hundred yards. No other land mammal can keep up with the Pronghorn over a long distance.
Pronghorns will flare out the white hairs on their rump when alarmed.
This serves as a warning to the other members of the herd.
The young are born in late May or early June with about 60% of the births being twins. At birth, fawns weigh 5 to 6 pounds and lack the spots that are characteristic of deer and elk fawns. The newborn do not have an odor and instinctively lie motionless for hours. This is their main defense from predators such as bobcats, eagles, and coyotes.

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Category:

Pets & Animals

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• park
• nature
• landscape
• environment
• natuur
• landschap
• wildlife
• dieren
• pronghorn
• gaffelantilope

[lastsaracen]

You know I'm bit surprised why a Pronghorn is classified as Bovid and not a Cervid. It looks more like a deer than a antelope or gazelle. As a matter of fact, deers should be part of the Bovid order instead of outside that. Any suggestions welcomed.

[cchanderson]

@SlashTheGuitarist Yeah he should have stated "These are the fastest long distance land mammals in the world" instead.

[SlashTheGuitarist]

@cchanderson I've know all this, I was just stating that the information on the video was not accurate when mentioning the African Cheetah. The African Cheetah would have a harder time chasing the pronghorn than its usual prey, the Thomson's Gazelle, but in a short run it still would have a 10-20 mph advantage.

[cchanderson]

@SlashTheGuitarist These animals (Pronghorn Antelope) were evolutionary designed to evade the recently extinct (in geologic terms 8000 BCE) North American Cheetah. There were 2 or possibly 3 species of NA Cheetah. They evolved from divergent family lines meaning they are not related to the current Cheetah. Judging by the speed of the Pronghorn it could be argued that the NA Cheetah was faster than the current one. An African Cheetah would have a very hard time catching a NA Pronghorn.

[Bluestarwarrior1]

awesome shots!

[SlashTheGuitarist]

@Thewoog Yeah you're right. The cheetah would most likely ambush from about 30 to 40 yards away instead of a long distance chase.

[naamhier]

@SlashTheGuitarist You're an idiot. You're biased because you like faggy cheetah's more, but who's the expert, you or them? Good, now stfu

[SlashTheGuitarist]

lol the person who made this video is stupid. A cheetah can run from 70-75 mph. That's faster than the pronghorn. I don't care how long it can run, it simply can't beat a cheetah in a race.

[xxander39]

Im giving you more, shut up, take it all yeah yeah

[105km]

No predator can catch them. I would love to see a cheetah chasing one of theese