Curious facts about the Pronghorn

The Pronghorn is unique in many respects:
* It is the only living member of its family in the world.
* It is the fastest land mammal in the world.  A Pronghorn can sprint as fast as 60 mph,
    and can sustain a speed of 30 mph for miles!   While the African Cheetah is often
    credited with being the fastest, it is a sprinter able to maintain such speeds for only a
    few hundred yards. No other land mammal can keep up with the Pronghorn over a long
    distance.
* When they encounter a fence, a Pronghorn will usually crawl under it; they seldom jump
    over one.
* The horn of the Pronghorn is different from the antlers of deer and the true horns
    of cattle or Bison.
       -  Antlers (found in the deer family) are shed annually and are made of bone.
       -  True horns are never shed.  They are made of compressed hair (keratin) growing
              on a bony core.
       -  The horn of a Pronghorn is a little of both.  While it is a true horn, it is covered by a
             horn sheath made of keratin growing on a bony core AND the sheath is shed
            annually. In addition, the horn sheath is branched in male pronghorns. True horns
            are always un-branched.
* The diet of pronghorns consists almost entirely of forbs (non-woody flowering plants)
     and brush; grass makes up a very small part of the diet. Sagebrush can be critical to
     pronghorn survival during harsh winters when the snow is deep and other forage is
     unavailable.

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