Thursday, May 29, 2008

Not Deer, Not Antelope

They kind of look like deer, they look more like antelope. But these creatures are most closely related to giraffes - they're pronghorn. My husband took this picture while driving to work. I believe this is a domestic herd. Pronghorn run fast, almost as fast as cheetahs - and they can run for hours. The males and females grow "antlers" - which are not really antlers, and they shed them and grow new ones every year. When driving to Sun Valley, I've seen them in a cloud of dust running across desert scrub.


4 comments:

  1. I am surprised you were able to get this close to pronghorn antelopes. They seem to be spooky and take off, and run away. It is a nice shot to be sure and I would say very rare to get. Nice work.

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  2. We saw herds and herds of these driving across interstate #90 in Wyoming last year. We had a hard time getting a photo because they were way too fast for us. Finally got a photo of one rubbing his "horns" on some desert scrub bush. Great shot you have here. I do think this is what they are refering to in that song "...where the deer and the antelope play."

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  3. Hi Abraham - my husband gets credit for this photo. He took several when he was surprised to see the animals - and he wasn't sure what they were. You're right, normally, they're spooky.

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  4. Hi jack and joann - thank you for stopping by. It's interesting you mention driving through Wyoming and seeing pronghorn. My parents drove through Wyoming this week and said they saw big herds of these guys, but not up close. Now, they said they did get to see bison up close, and even a little bear, all while driving through Yellowstone.

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Thanks for stopping by!