The Pronghorn in Arizona

MANY types of antelope are found in Asia and Africa; outside of these areas there lives but one kind and that is the Prong Horn Antelope of North America. The Prong Horn with its head held high, its erect horns, trim legs and graceful carriage presents a beautiful sight.Though their horns grow over a core of bony structure, they are shed each year to be replaced anew. The process of shedding is entirely different than that of the deer. In the deer, the horn is solid and breaks off at the base or pedicel when shed. In the Prong Horn the outer sheath alone is shed and the new horn covering begins to harden immediately, with the tip end hardening first. Each horn is placed directly above the eye, and in the male bears a prong about midway between the base and tip. The older does usually have horns but they are quite short, distorted and do not bear a prong.

The coloration of this animal is of light yellow brown and white. The markings are interestingly laid out and lend a very striking appearance. The brown color covers the back and neck extending down the shoulders and flanks and stripes of this color encirclethe throat while the rest of the animal is predominantly white. From the neck rises a short, dark mane. The male has a dark patch on the base of the lower jaw.

They have the capacity to erect all of the white hair on their rumps which tends to exaggerate the size of this area. When in alarm, this patch of white hair is thrown up instantly. Among the swiftest of animals, it springs into a gallop to flee from danger. Its strides are long.

My first introduction to the Prong Horn in its wild state was in Arizona in the fall of 1939. We were driving from Lake Mead to Phoenix and just east of Kingman saw a herd of these fine animals near a water hole. As they were some distance from the highway we decided we would try to stalk them, hoping to get a better view. Parking our car and trailer we set out on foot down a deep wash toward them. From time to time we would crawl up the bank of the wash to see how successful we were being in our effort to get closer. The antelope suspiciously retreated to a distant rise where they were milling around and restlessly looking in the direction of our car. With our glasses we were now able to see them quite plainly and they were beautiful, the early morning sun washing their coats with its golden color. A bend in the wash we had been following made it impossible for us to use it further for cover so with a last look we left.

The late summer and fall of 1942 found us south of Williams, Arizona getting material for etchings and paintings of wild turkey and antelope. The antelope, being a plains animal, would frequently be seen in the numerous flats in the vicinity. They were in herds of nine and ten and usually each herd would contain one buck, the remainder being females and the young.

After a long wait in a blind for wild turkey one day, a lone Prong Horn buck came to drink at the spring. He was constantly alert and would not drink for long without holding his head high to watch for any possible danger. After drinking his fill from a clear pool he carefully picked his way over some rocks and then sprang into a gallop, soon to be swallowed up in the growth of pines at the far end of the flat. It was a splendid opportunity to note the actions of the animal.

Much has been said of the extreme curiosity of the Prong Horn Antelope. I had the extent of their curiosity demonstrated to me one afternoon.

I was returning to camp and on approaching a big flat saw a small herd to the east and not far from the edge of the timber. The setting was one of great beauty. In the far distance rose majestic San Francisco Peaks, whose snow covered summit in contrast with the deep blue of the sky dwarfed the nearby timbered slopes. The flat, a golden brown in its autumn color, complimented the deep, rich greens of the bordering pines. The antelope, mere light-colored specks in the distance, moved slowly about as they fed. After watching them for a while through my field glasses and taking note of the wind direction, I went back into the timber and walked eastward, parallel to the flat. After walking about a mile or so I again approached the flat and soon could see the antelope. Some were feeding and others were lying down. There were nine in all.

My intention was to get to the very edge of the timber where I could get behind a big Ponderosa pine and take some color movies. Crawling and wriggling along through the grass, I neared the edge of the clearing but not unnoticed for long. The buck was first to detect the movement in the tall grass and soon started slowly and inquisitively toward me. Others noted his actions and those that were lying down rose to their feet and feeding was stopped. They all moved toward me. Something was causing a movement in the grass; but what was it? The buck came very close until he was in the shadows of the trees under which I now quietly lay and watched with camera sighted on him. The soft whirring sound of the movie camera was unlike any sound he had heard. Several times he blew as a deer will do and returned to the rest of the herd with the white patch of hair erect on his rump. He then took the responsibility upon himself to see that none of the does approached any closer. The does stood abreast and when one would make an attempt to break away to investigate that "something" more closely, the buck would strike at her with his front feet to drive her back.

After taking a number of movie shots from my prone position I decided to stand up. Holding the camera in readiness from the sudden action which I expected to see, I slowly rose to a standing position. Much to my surprise, instead of springing into a gallop to flee, they wheeled slowly as a group of trained circus animals might and returned to stand two hundred feet distant. They repeated this several times all abreast and closely bunched, with heads held high and the white hair erect on their rumps. Not until I lowered the camera and shouted did they take action. With a bound they were in a gallop and fleeing.

Nature usually provides colorations and markings in birds and animals to help protect them. However, the white rump of the antelope seems to me to be a handicap. The brilliant white rump marked the fleeing animals long after they should otherwise have blended into the countryside.

Antelope will sometimes "race" with an automobile. Others had told me of their experiences in regard to this and I experienced such an incident early this summer. While driving nearly 35 miles an hour along a forest road, I was suddenly very surprised to have a doe come racing up alongside of the car not more than twenty-five feet distant. She raced on and crossed the road just in front of the car.

Early in the 1900's there was some concern as to the future of the Prong Horn Antelope. The unrestricted hunting in most sections of the West was taking a heavy toll. Where thousands once roamed over certain plains areas, their numbers dropped to hundreds and less. By 1909 practically all hunting of this fine animal was stopped with the result that today there is no danger of their becoming extinct.

In Arizona the State Game and Fish Commission with the co-operation of the Federal Aid Division is working diligently with the Prong Horns as well as other game animals and birds to further increase their numbers. Among the activities is the harmless trapping of antelope in areas where they are more or less abundant and trucking them to suitable areas where there are few or no antelope. Hunting is supervised and only a limited number of permits are issued.