I live in Virginia, which is home to the white-tailed deer. I’m pretty familiar with them as they frequent our suburban neighborhood and I’ll often see them nibbling on our apple branches or prancing across the front yard. There have been times when they don’t even move as the car pulls into the driveway and they’ve bedded down on the grassy bank nearby. We’re neighbors and coexist harmoniously.
The subject of this book, another fleet footed mammal, I now know more about and am amazed.
Deerlike, but not a deer, the pronghorn is the subject of this narrative written by a zooarchaeological researcher, university professor, wildlife photographer, and adventurer at heart. While author James Szczur has traveled to Africa, this safari took him to the American West where he spent nearly two years observing pronghorn up close and personal.
Home on the Range
A move to Colorado Springs in 1991 gave the author ample opportunity to observe herds of pronghorn in the surrounding grasslands near his home. By 2020, he was in a position where he could devote undivided attention to these usually reclusive yet always curious creatures. He was interested in their behavior, movements, and annual migrations, and most importantly, how they were coping with the ever-encroaching housing developments. Happy in open grasslands and prairies, he would often see them not far from bulldozers paving roads for a new subdivision, literally hanging on to their territory as another house was in construction.
Experts in speed and sight, pronghorns are the fastest hoofed mammals in North America. They evolved with the likes of lions and cheetahs that used to exist centuries ago in North America. They can easily outrun coyotes over the long stretches.
Mr. Szczur has his own theories as to why they are more commonly referred to as antelope rather than pronghorn. One is the Lewis and Clark expedition in 1804, when Capt. Lewis observed this antelope-goat animal and found it easier to call it an antelope, with its legs similar to a deer and its graceful flight.
As Mr.Szczur notes: “Their scientific name, Antilocapra Americana, means ‘American antelope-goat,’ even though they are not closely related to the various antelope in Africa.”
Their backward-curving horns are a unique feature to this native of the Great Plains. Interestingly, pronghorn shed their two-pronged horns every year, allowing adventure seekers and artifact hunters, like Mr. Szczur, to go in search of them. Currently, the author has amassed quite a collection.
Their unique horns are fibrous, not like bone antlers on deer or elk. Having a life span of roughly 10 years, pronghorn use their horns as a feature to attract females, as weapons against predators, and as dueling swords against other male intruders.
Peace Among the Pronghorn
Aside from the scientific specifics of their species, which is presented in lively fashion, Mr. Szczur is fascinated with many of their behaviors, which humans can readily connect with: defending their territories, a natural curiosity to new things and, above all, protecting their young.Mr. Szczur felt privileged to observe one encounter when two young pronghorns were rutting. An older pronghorn came on the scene as if to alert them that the herd still had young ones to protect and, perhaps, they should schedule their duel for another time.
Mr. Szczur experienced many moments of deep serenity and joy in his time spent in the Western wilds and came very close to the pronghorn he was studying. He is clearly a godly man, compassionate, and caring, and that sentiment is reflected in his well-organized and thoughtful chapters. He is passionate about his subject matter, about sharing it with others, and is awestruck by the pronghorn’s majesty and the hand that created them.
As with my observations of white-tailed deer in our neighborhood, the ponghorn can thrive very close to human populations. If you’re not familiar with this graceful creature, you will be edified to learn about them from this read.
This is a quick read with a skillful blend of scientific fact, history, interesting anecdotes, and photographs. Spending time in nature, the author makes personal reflections that often take a spiritual turn as he marvels at these creatures, their environment, and their creator.
