Pronghorn
Antilocapra americana
🦌
Chordata
Mammalia
Artiodactyla
Pecora
Antilocapridae
Antilocapra
Antilocapra americana
From Greek anti- (“opposite”) + lopas (“horn”)—referring to the prong’s forked shape. Americana denotes “of America.” The common name “pronghorn” describes its unique, branched keratin horns—unlike any other ungulate on Earth.
North America’s fleet-footed relic of the Ice Age plains.
Description
The pronghorn is the sole surviving member of an ancient lineage of hoofed mammals native to North America. Adults stand about 0.9 meters at the shoulder and weigh between 40–65 kilograms. Their tan-and-white coats and dark facial masks help them blend into open grasslands. Adapted for incredible speed—up to 88 km/h—they are the continent’s fastest land animal and among the swiftest endurance runners globally. Unlike true antelopes, their horns are unique: a bony core covered by a keratin sheath that is shed annually.
Pronghorns are highly social, forming loose herds in winter and smaller groups in summer. Their vision is exceptional—comparable to binoculars—and they rely on keen eyesight and speed rather than cover or aggression to evade predators.
Quick Facts
Max Mass
Shoulder Height
Standing Height
Length
Diet
Trophic Level
65
0.9
1.3
1.4
kg
m
m
m
Mixed Feeder (grasses, forbs, shrubs)
Mixed Feeder Graze + browse
Hunt History
Pronghorn remains are common in Late Pleistocene and Holocene faunal assemblages across western North America, often showing cut marks, burn traces, and association with projectile points and communal hunting structures. They were a vital prey species for Paleo-Indians and later Indigenous peoples of the Great Basin and Plains, who mastered cooperative drive hunts and mass-capture corrals.
Danger Cave, Utah (≈9,500 years ago) – Faunal remains include pronghorn bones with butchery marks and evidence of roasting, alongside early Desert Archaic tools, suggesting communal processing after drive hunts.
Agate Basin Site, Wyoming (≈10,200 years ago) – Stratified bison and pronghorn kill layers contain fluted projectile points and cut-marked bones, documenting early Holocene hunting of fast, open-country ungulates.
Ruby Valley, Nevada (≈4,000 years ago) – Rock alignments and faunal remains from drive lines and corrals indicate sophisticated communal pronghorn traps used by Great Basin peoples for seasonal harvests.
Time & Range
Extinction Status
No
Extinction Date
Temporal Range
Region
0
BP
Late Pleistocene - Now
North America (Great Plains, Great Basin, and Southwest)
Fat Analysis
Fatness Profile:
Medium
Fat %
12
Est. Renderable Fat
8
kg
Targeted Organs
Perirenal Fat, Marrow
Adipose Depots
Perirenal Fat, Mesenteric Fat, Marrow
Preferred Cuts
Perirenal Fat
Hunt Difficulty (x/5)
3