What Made The Pronghorn So Fast?

PRONGHORN - they are related to deer, right?

NOPE!

So, they are antelopes, right?

NOPE?

Pronghorns are not antelope, despite their common name.

They are the sole member of the family Antilocapridae, while antelope belong to the family Bovidae. But what made them so fast? There is a theory.

It is thought that the North American pronghorn evolved its incredible speed—up to 60 mph—to outrun fast, now-extinct predators like the American cheetah and the American lion during the Pleistocene epoch. Both of those big cats are extinct. But the pronghorn are still here. I guess they outran them.

They have horns like an antelope, but they shed them every year like deer.

Currently, they are considered most closely related to giraffes. 

But they aren't that either. 

Pronghorn are native to North America, while most antelope are found in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.

Lewis and Clark saw the pronghorn and tried to describe them.

That prompted a discussion that continues to this day.

William Clark described the distinctly American pronghorn as “like the antelope or gazella of Africa.”

The comparison stuck, and the question took hold. What is the difference between pronghorn and antelope?

Pronghorn are one of North America’s most impressive mammals.

Not only do pronghorn have the longest land migration in the continental United States, but they also are the fastest land animal in North America. Pronghorn can run at speeds close to 60 miles an hour.

Although pronghorn are not as fast as cheetahs, they can maintain a fast speed for a longer period of time than cheetahs.

Even more amazing than its speed is the pronghorn’s migration. Herds of pronghorn migrate 150 miles each way between Wyoming’s Upper Green River Basin and Grand Teton National Park.

Okay, so what are we supposed to call them?

That's all I really want to know.

Maybe we should just call them PRONGHORN and leave it at that.