Antelope
by Eric Peterson
| We call them antelope, but they’re not really antelope. A cow and a gazelle are more closely related than our antelope and the antelope of Africa. But they are the speed champions of North America. |
| Look at ‘em go. Man, they sure can run! Pronghorn Antelope - the icon of Wyoming’s wildlife treasure chest. They are fantastically well adapted for their environment. Big eyes – fostering superhuman sight. |
| Fine, light, and superstrong leg bones to carry a body at frightful speeds through treacherous terrain Remarkable coloration providing astounding camouflage during much of the year. |
| And the word for the day is "Cursorial". That name for that curious form of locomotion where the hind legs land well ahead of the prints left by the fronts and the remarkable amount of flexion in the skeletal structure. |
| I marvel at their adaptations and I often pause to wonder what creature imposed the evolutionary pressure to evolve our Pronghorn into an animal who can sprint at sixty miles per hour and do miles at over thirty miles an hour. |
| Truly amazing, and a wonder of Wyoming. From the University of Wyoming Cooperative Extension Service, I’m Eric Peterson. |