PRONGHORN

(Antilocapra americana), North American hoofed mammal, the sole living member of the family Antilocapridae (order Artiodactyla), also known as prongbuck and as pronghorned, or American, antelope. It stands about 80100 centimetres (2 1/23 1/4 feet) at the shoulder. It is reddish brown with a short, dark-brown mane, white underparts, two white bands on the throat, and a large circular white patch on the rump. The hairs of the rump can be erected to produce a flash of white, apparently a warning signal, that can be seen by man for 34 kilometres (22 1/2 miles). Both sexes bear erect horns that branch into two prongs, the longer curving backward and the shorter projecting forward. The pronghorn, valued as a game animal, inhabits open plains and semideserts, living alone or in small bands in summer and forming large herds in winter. The male gathers a harem in late summer, and the female bears one or two young after about eight months' gestation. A swift, nimble animal, the pronghorn can attain a speed of 70 km per hour and leaps 6 metres (20 feet) at a bound. It was once found from Alberta to northern Mexico but is now reduced in both numbers and range; some subspecies are endangered. It has, however, responded well to conservation practices, and controlled hunting occurs through most of its range.