JACKSON, Wyo. — Grand Teton National Park (GTNP) has shared some “fast facts” about Wyoming’s pronghorn herds via social media.
The American pronghorn, known colloquially as the speed goat or antelope, is native to North America, with approximately 320,000 residing in Wyoming, per the Wyoming Game and Fish Department.
According to GTNP, the pronghorn is considered the fastest land animal in North America, and the second fastest land animal in the world. The only animal species that can run faster than a pronghorn is the cheetah, reaching speeds of 61 to 75 miles per hour (mph).
While antelope is a commonly used term for pronghorn, they are not technically antelopes, GTNP wrote. The pronghorn is the last surviving member of the Antilocapridae family; an animal most closely related to the giraffe and okapi.
GTNP wrote via Facebook that pronghorn evolved to outrun the now-extinct North American cheetah from the Pleistocene epoch or Ice Age era. The pronghorn can move their hooves up to speeds of 55 to 60 mph over long distances.
“Don’t try to race the pronghorn,” GTNP wrote. “You’ll just embarrass yourself.”
Another pronghorn fact that GTNP shared is that the Sublette Herd migrates over 100 miles between GTNP and the Green River Valley — one of the longest land migrations in North America. During their annual migration, known as the Path of the Pronghorn, these ungulates travel from their summer ranges in the Wyoming Range, Bondurant and Jackson Hole to lower-elevation winter ranges near Pinedale, Green River and Rock Springs.
Another tidbit: Pronghorn don’t shed their entire horns (similar to bison); only the outer sheath of the horns is shed each year.
GTNP reminds visitors to drive the speed limit and to give pronghorn and all wild animals ample space — at least 100 yards from bears and wolves and 25 yards from all other species.
