Pronghorn

“ Trotting daintily out of a thicket on our left is a herd of something you might think were deer or pronghorn. But if you look closely you’ll see that they have two pairs of curving, unbranched horns on their heads, not the single pair of prongs you’d expect on a pronghorn. ”

“ With the exception of the reindeer, antlers are confined to the malcs.
III. The third type of horn is presented by the American prong buck, or pronghorn, in which bony processes, or “cores,” corresponding to the horns of the giraffe, have acquired a horny sheath, in place of skin; the sheath being in this instance forked, and annually shed and renewed, although the core is simple. The sheaths are akin to hair in structure, thus suggesting affinity with the hairs surmounting the giraffe's horns. Female prong buck may or may not have horns. ”

“ Shagbark gave it as his belief that some of the animals would be found in the valley, and, as usual, he was not mistaken.
The American antelope or pronghorn is a native of the plains near the Rocky Mountains. Nearly always the upper parts of ts body are yellowish brown in color, while the under parts, the sides and the head and throat and the buttocks are white. It sheds the bony sheath of its horns every year. It may be worth noting that this creature is known also by the names of prongbuck, pronghorned antelope, cabrèe and cabut. ”

“ It is a typical animal of the plains and open rolling country—few animals are more fleet or wary than the pronghorn. Unfortunately their curiosity in regard to any object that they do not recognize or understand helped make them a fairly easy mark for the hunters. ”

“ Name applied by Shoshone Indians to Rock Creek, Idaho.
Antelope (ăn′tḗ-lōp) . Animal akin to the deer, a native of the Western plains and open mountain valleys. Commonly called pronghorns. The North American pronghorn is not a true antelope.
Balzamoriza (bäl′zạ-mō-rī-zạ) . A species of plant with showy yellow blossoms, and velvety leaves, belonging to sunflower family. Commonly known as “spring sunflower.” The seeds were used by Indians for food. It grows about one foot high.
Bannocks (Băn′nŏcks or Pä′no͝oks) . Tribe of western Indians allied to Shoshones. Dr. ”

“ The shape of the body is deer-like, but more robust; the head is carried erect, while the bounding gait and alert air are gazelle-like. (See Colored Plate of Antelopes.) The animal differs from the true antelopes and from all other ruminants in the total absence of ‘false hoofs,’ and in the remarkable nature of its horns, which are deciduous. The skull is surmounted by two spike-like horn-cores, rising over the great eye-orbit and leaning outward. ”

“ The extension of fenced ranching, but most of all the spanning of the plains by railroads, rapidly put an end to these migrations, and the wasteful killing of the pronghorns in sport, or as food, completed the virtual extermination of one of the most interesting and desirable animals of the New World. ”

“ Nor could a cougar overcome a bull moose, or a bull elk either, if the latter's horns were grown, save by taking it unawares. By choice, with such big game, its victims are the cows and young. The prong-horn rarely comes within reach of its spring; but it is the dreaded enemy of bighorn, white goat, and every kind of deer, while it also preys on all the smaller beasts, such as foxes, coons, rabbits, beavers, and even gophers, rats, and mice. It sometimes makes a thorny meal of the porcupine, and if sufficiently hungry attacks and eats its smaller cousin the lynx. It is not a brave animal ”

“ The flesh of the prong-horn in autumn, when it is in the best condition, is good food, especially if the animal be young.
In May and June the prong-horn brings forth two fawns, which are of a dun-color, and not spotted like the fawns of the deer. For these the mother displays great affection, and defends them with vigor against the attacks of enemies. She is sometimes able to beat off even the wolf; but not always, and hence many of these little creatures are annually destroyed by this hungry animal. The prong-horn, when taken young, is easily tamed. ”

“ The prong-horns appear to possess a highly nervous temperament, which requires for their welfare the wide free sweep of the open plains. They do not thrive and increase in inclosures, even in large game preserves, as do deer, elk, and buffalo. For this reason, it will require the greatest care to protect and foster these attractive members of our fauna to save them from soon being numbered among the many wild species which have been destroyed by the coming of civilized man. ”

“ Unique among the antelope of the world, among which it has no near relatives, the prong-horn, because of its beauty of coloration, its grace, and fleetness, claims the attention of sportsmen and nature lovers alike. It is a smaller and slenderer animal than the larger forms of the Virginia deer. Its hair is coarse and brittle, and the spongy skin lacks the tough fiber needed to make good buckskin. Both sexes have horns, those of the doe being smaller and slenderer. ”

“ The Prong-horn ranges throughout the western part of North America from the Missouri river to the Pacific ocean, and from the Saskatchewan river south to the Rio Grande. It is not confined to the plains, but has been found in the wild valleys of the Rocky mountains to a height of over eight thousand feet above sea level.
The daily life of this interesting animal is thus described by Canfield, who made an exhaustive study of them and who also kept them in captivity: "From the first of September to the first of March one always sees them in larger groups composed of bucks, does and yearlings. ”

“ Even in the Yellowstone Park the antelope herds are now but little better than stationary. Excepting the goat and musk-ox, the prong-horn is North America’s most exclusively American species of big game. It is so very odd that it occupies a Family all alone. It is the only living hollow-horned ruminant that sheds its horns, every year. ”

“ The rump patch of the prong-horn is formed of long pure white hairs, which in moments of excitement or alarm are raised on end to form two great chrysanthemum-like white rosettes that produce an astonishingly conspicuous directive color mark. The power to raise these hairs is exercised by the fawns when only a few days old. Even when the hairs are not erected the rump patch is conspicuous as a flashing white signal to a distance of from one to two miles as the antelope gallops away. ”

“ In 1912, the future of the prong-horned antelope in real captivity seems hopeless. We have decided not to bring any more specimens to our institution, partly because all available candidates seem reasonably certain to be affected with lumpy-jaw, and partly because we are unwilling to run further risks of having other hoofed animals inoculated by them. Today we are anxiously wondering whether the jaw disease of the prong-horn is destined to exterminate the species. Such a catastrophe is much to be feared. ”

“ In the first place these weapons are permanent structures, taking the form of a bony core ensheathed in horn, with which we may compare the temporary covering of velvet in the deer: in the second, they are unbranched. The only exception to this rule is furnished by the Prong-horned Antelope, wherein the sheath is both annually shed, and branched. The branching, however, is very slight, taking the form of a short forwardly directed prong about half-way up the sheath, which is borne on a long bony pedicle recalling that of the Muntjac. ”

“ The big horn is usually denominated a sheep, though it possesses far more of the characteristics of the deer and antelope families. Like the chamois, it is a dweller among the rocky cliffs and declivities, and only there does it feel at home, and in the full enjoyment of its faculties for security. Place it upon a level plain, and you deprive it of confidence, and render its capture comparatively easy. At the base of these very cliffs on which the Ovis montana disports itself, roams the prong-horn, not very dissimilar either in form, colour, or habits ”

“ The eyes of the prong-buck are black, large, and expressive, but not a trace exists of a larmier or crumen, a glandular opening beneath the eyes, so conspicuous in the generality of deer. The hoofs are narrow and acute, but no trace exists of the supplementary hoofs usually found in all ruminants, situated just above the pasterns, at the back of the legs. The ears are very long, and285 well adapted to catch the faintest sound. The hair is coarse, crimped or wavy; growing in a tuft on the forehead, and during summer in a mane on the neck and back of the male. ”

“ North America possesses two species, found only in the western parts of the continent, the prong-horn (Antilocapra) and the Rocky Mountain goat (Aplocerus) , which depart considerably from the typical character of the genus. The prong-horn sheds the horns annually like most species of deer. Europe produces only the Alpine chamois and the saiga (A. saiga) , which inhabits the southern plains of Poland and Russia. Most species are African, and take the place of the true deer in that continent. The Springbok is goat-like in form and movement ”

“ In captivity the antelope is exasperatingly delicate and short-lived. It has about as much stamina as a pet monkey. As an exhibition animal in zoological gardens and parks it is a failure; for it always looks faded, spiritless and dead, like a stuffed animal ready to be thrown into the discard. Zoologists can not save the prong-horn species save at long range, in preserves so huge that the sensitive little beast will not even suspect that it is confined. ”

“ The adult bucks roam about singly or two together, leaving the mothers with their latest progeny to their fate, the young Prong-horns in the meantime gathering in groups of their own apart from the older animals. ”

“ Selous also shows that the "signal" or [Pg xvi] "mutual recognition" theory of coloration has been at the least carried to an extreme by closet naturalists. The prongbuck of North America has the power of erecting the glistening white hairs on its rump until it looks like a chrysanthemum; but there seems scarcely any need of this as a signal; for prongbucks live out on the bare plains, never seek to avoid observation, are very conspicuous beasts, and have eyes like telescopes, so that one of them can easily see another a mile or two off. ”

“ The latter likewise inhabits cliffs in summer, but descends into the valleys in the winter. It has white wool, like a sheep, mingled with a thin growth of long hair; but it has short legs, a deep belly, and a beard like a goat. Its horns are about five inches long, slightly curved backwards, black as jet, and beautifully polished. Its hoofs are of the same color. This animal is by no means so active as the bighorn; it does not bound much, but sits a good deal upon its haunches. It is not so plentiful either; rarely more than two or three are seen at a time. ”

“ In size the bighorn is between the domestic sheep and the common red-deer of America, but is more strongly built than the latter. It is of a brownish-dun colour, with a somewhat white streak on the hind-quarters. The tail is shorter than that of the deer, and tipped with black. As the age of the animal increases, the coat becomes of a darker tinge. The horns, of the male especially, are of great size, curving backwards about three feet in length, and twenty inches in circumference at the roots. ”

“ In all its ways and habits the prongbuck differs as much from deer and elk as from goat and sheep. Now that the buffalo has gone, it is the only game really at home on the wide plains. It is a striking-looking little creature, with its big bulging eyes, single-pronged horns, and the sharply contrasted coloration of its coat; this coat, by the way, being composed of curiously coarse and brittle hair. In marked contrast to deer, antelope never seek to elude observation; all they care for is to be able to see themselves. ”

“ In wet weather, no man can climb any of them, and at such times they are greasy, muddy, sliding grounds. Oftentimes when a Bighorn is seen on a hill-top, the hunter has to ramble about for three or four miles before he can approach within gunshot of the game, and if the Bighorn ever sees his enemy, pursuit is useless. The tops of some of these hills, and in some cases whole hills about thirty feet high, are composed of a conglomerated mass of stones, sand, and clay, with earth of various sorts, fused together, and having a brick-like appearance. ”

“ Those in the Yellowstone Park are protected against man only to be devoured by the wolves which infest the Park.
Unfortunately, the Prong-Horned Antelope is not a hardy animal. The kids are very difficult to rear; they are at all times easily hurt by accident, and even in a state of nature this species suffers more severely in winter than any other North American ruminant. Often the herds drift helplessly before the blizzards, with numerous deaths from freezing and starvation, and in spring the survivors come out thin and weak. ”

“ The bighorn of the American continent, inclusive of its local races (frequently regarded as distinct species) , is a large sheep, distinguished from the Asiatic argalis, among other features, by the comparative smoothness of the horns, in which the outer front angle is prominent, and the inner one rounded off, and also by the smaller size of the face glands. There is a well-marked whitish patch on the rump, but the amount of white on the under parts and legs shows considerable local variation. ”

“ The great majority of antelopes, exclusive of the doubtful chamois group (which, however, will be included in the present article) , are African, although the gazelles are to a considerable extent an Asiatic group. They include ruminants varying in size from a hare to an ox; and comprise about 150 species, although this number is subject to considerable variation according to personal views as to the limitations of species and races. No true antelopes are American, the prongbuck (Antilocapra) , which is commonly called “antelope” in the United States, representing a distinct group ”