Pronghorn - A Project at School

The pronghorn is an amazing prairie animal. They're fast-footed, game loving, and adorable little creatures.

At the season of spring, a pronghorn doe is about to five birth to a kid. To get ready, she finds a nice and quiet place away from the herd. Usually, twins are born. But, one or three babies are found too sometimes.

At the second day of the pronghorn, they have already taught themselves to run. Baby pronghorns spend about three weeks in a cache. A cache is a hiding spot that a kid pronghorn waits in. When a pronghorn is three to six weeks old, she begins to eat leaves and shoots instead of milk. Once a pronghorn is about a year old, (can you believe it?) they are officially called adults. If they are lucky, they will live for three of four more years.

The pronghorn has some "special traits". These traits are what you can use to identify a "fast-footed" pronghorn. One main way you can spot one is by the color of their skin. They have a tanned coat with a white throat and rump. Another way you can recognize them is by the looks of their horns and mane. Pronghorn have black "pronged" horns with curved tips. Can you guess how this animal got its name? Pronghorn also have a short, black mane by their head.

Have you ever heard of the western plains, they so called "Blue Sky Country"?  These grass fields are home to the amazing pronghorn, Pronghorn can live in open plains, foothills, or even hot deserts!

But, these animals aren't all around the world. You can only find them in the plains in the west of North America and Central Mexico. In the USA, most pronghorn live in Wyoming and Montana. Pronghorn like to live away from civilization which is why they do not live very long when kept as zoo animals and pets. It looks like they need the freedom of the open range. they are very nervous creatures.

Pronghorn do not have a large variety of foot to eat. But they have three favorites: they mainly eat plants, but only small ones. They can eat weeds, grass and even some small shrubs! Pronghorn don't have to go far to find food because it's usually all by their feet! Although these animals aren't heavy eaters, they nibble their food one by one. They barely do any damage to the prairie. Their mouths are careful.

You've heard about what this animal eats, so now let't talk about what eats this animal.

Some main predators are eagles and coyotes, but there are others too. Bobcats, mountain lions, golden eagles, and wild dogs are also predators of the pronghorn. There are some special predators too. In Arizona, coyotes are the main predators for baby or kid pronghorn.

Now, get ready for some interesting and fascinating facts!

Did you know that the pronghorn is the second fastest land mammal behind the cheetah? They can sprint up to 60 mph! They use this speed in their favorite hobby - racing cars. Their coat also sheds and grows. It is used for all kinds of weather. Like some animals, their horns shed annually. With these interesting traits, their eyes are the best of them all! They can sees for a very long distance. With these eyes, they see sun signals. What is a sun signal? It is where a pronghorn sees danger coming. They stick their rump in the air and is reflects off the sun. Other pronghorn see this and the whole herd gallop away from danger.

I picked the pronghorn for my project because it is a fascination animal! I like everything about it and I like the fact that they are the second fastest land mammal. I hope you like these animals as much as I do!