The Pronghorn Antelope is the only animal in the world with branched horns (not antlers) and the only animal in the world to shed its horns, as if they were antlers. The Pronghorn, like sheep and goats, has a gall bladder, and like giraffes, lacks dewclaws. If that weren't enough, the Pronghorn is the fastest animal in the western hemisphere, running in 20-foot bounds at up to 60 miles per hour. Unlike the Cheetah, speedburner of the African plains, the Pronghorn can run for hours at quite a fast pace.

Antelope live throughout all 4 deserts of the American Southwest, from Saskatchewan, Canada south to Mexico.

Antelope habitat consists of Grasslands, brushlands, bunch-grass and sagebrush areas of open plains and deserts.

This North American hoofed mammal is the sole surviving member of the family Antilocapridae (order Artiodactyla). It is also called the Prongbuck, Pronghorned Antelope and American Antelope. It is not related to the Old World antelopes. The slender, graceful, Pronghorn has a deer-like body weighs between 90 and 125 pounds, and stands about 3 1/2 feet at the shoulder. It has large, protruding eyes and a white or buff, 4-inch tail.

The upper body and outside of the legs are tan to brown. The cheeks, lower jaw, chest, belly, inner legs and rump are usually white. The male has a broad, black band down the snout to a black nose and black neck patch, together with black horns.

Not an antler, the horn is a hollow sheath over a bony core arising from the skull directly over the eyes. Horns are lyre-shaped, with the female not exceeding 3 or 4 inches. Male horns may grow to 20 inches with a short prong jutting forward and upward halfway from the base. Unlike any other animal, however, the Pronghorn sheds its horn.

The Pronghorn inhabits open plains and semi-deserts, living alone or in small bands in summer and forming large herds in winter. Being highly mobile, the Pronghorn may cover a large area during the year. Pronghorn can survive a temperature range of 180 degrees, from 130 in the deserts to 50 below zero.

This high-strung animal is active night and day, combining alternate snatches of sleep with vigilant feeding. Pronghorn are selective, opportunistic foragers. They feed on forbs, shrubs, grasses, juniper, chamiso and sometimes cacti and domestic crops. In winter, desert populations are said to favor Sagebrush.

Because Pronghorn inhabit open terrain, they rely on defense mechanisms of speed and keen eyesight. Pronghorn can detect movement up to 4 miles away. When alerted to danger, they contract their rump muscles causing their white rump hairs to stand on end, which other Pronghorn may detect from 2 miles away. At the same time, they exude a musky odor, which can be detected for more than a mile.

In late summer or early Fall, the male gathers a harem of about 3 or 4 does. Horns are shed a month after breeding. Pronghorns have been known to breed as fawns but they usually breed for the first time when they are 16 to 17 months old. The does usually produce twin fawns in early June after a gestation period of about 250 days.

The young are born in May or June weighing anywhere from 4 to 12 pounds, according to various sources; about 60% of the births being twins. At birth, fawns lack the spots that are characteristic of deer and elk fawns. The newborns do not have an odor and instinctively lie motionless for hours. This is their main defense from predators such as bobcats, eagles and coyotes. Within a day or two, the 16-inch-tall fawn will be able to sprint at speeds up to 25 mph. But for the first few days after birth, the fawns lie quietly in tall grass while the mother grazes.

After a week of nursing, the does and fawns rejoin the herd. The greatest losses occur during the first two months of life. Only about 40 percent of the fawns born in June live until mid-July. Pronghorn longevity is estimated at 9 to 10 years in the wild, and 12 years in captivity.