| Latin Name: | Antilocapra americana |
| Category: | Mammals |
| Fun Facts: |
- A pronghorn stands two and a half to three and a half feet high at the shoulder and its head and body length is between three and five feet long. Its tail is between three and seven inche
 s long and it weighs between 80 and 155 pounds.
- A pronghorn can outrun a man by the time it is four days old.
- Are you a twin? Sixty percent of pronghorn babies are born with a twin.
- A pronghorn is the only animal to shed its branched horns. Usually only animals with antlers have branches and shed.
- Though both male and female pronghorn may have horns, the female’s horns are usually much shorter and do not have prongs. A male’s horns are 13 to 15 inches long, whereas a female’s horns are about three to five inches long.
- Pronghorn, unlike deer, will rarely try to jump a fence; instead, they will try to climb under it.
- The lifespan of the pronghorn is seven to 10 years.
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| Information: |
Almost everyone knows the cheetah is the world’s fastest land animal, but we don’t have them here in the United States. So, who are the speed champions of the U.S.? The pronghorn! Pronghorn are the fastest land animal in the western hemisphere, running up to 60 m.p.h. with bounds of 20 feet at a time. They could beat a cheetah in a race of endurance, since a cheetah can only maintain its super speed for short distances. A pronghorn can run at a fairly fast speed of 30 m.p.h. for miles. Speed is one of its best adaptations for avoiding predators. Another adaptation is its incredible eyesight. With its large eyes, the pronghorn can detect movement up to four miles away! Sometime when you are in the car, ask your mom or dad to tell you when you have gone four miles from your house—it’s a pretty long way to see!
Because pronghorn rely so much on their eyesight, they live in grassland and desert areas. They do not like to live in areas where plants are more than 30 inches high because they cannot see possible danger. Also, although they will eat some grasses, they prefer flowering plants, shrubs, sagebrush and a variety of cactuses. They do not drink much water because they get the water they need from the plants they eat.
Pronghorn are most vulnerable to predators like wolves, coyotes and bobcats when they are very young. The mothers of fawns will leave  them for up to five hours at a time. Twins are separated and hidden in different locations. Though this might not seem safe, it is actually good protection. The young fawns have no scent and lie very still hidden in the grass. By staying away from her young, the mother keeps a predator’s attention away from where they might be hidden.
Pronghorn stay in small groups during the spring and summer, but may live in a loose herd of up to 1,000 members in the fall and winter. The herd will run as a group if it senses danger, which makes it very hard for a predator to single out one animal to attack.
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| Habitat: |
Located in the prairie section of the Zoo's North America Region, these animals share a large grassland exhibit space with the American bison. These animals are adapted to life in the American prairie states, where temperatures range from very cold to hot. The bison and pronghorn are comfortable in an outdoor exhibit year round. |