What is the difference between a pronghorn and an antelope?
Although pronghorns and antelopes resemble each other in some respects—both are hoofed ruminant mammals in the order Artiodactyla and typically have horns—they are quite different. Pronghorn is the common name of one species, Antilocapra americana, which is the sole member of the family Antilocapridae. The animal lives in North America, from Alberta, Canada, to northern Mexico. Antelope, on the other hand, is a catchall term used to describe any of more than 90 species of Old World animals in the family Bovidae, which also includes cattle, sheep, and goats. The vast majority of antelope species live in Africa, although about 14 live in Asia.
The pronghorn is also known as the American antelope, perhaps adding to the confusion over whether it is related to true antelopes of Africa and Asia.
One of the most striking differences between pronghorns and antelopes lies in their horns. Pronghorns have unique branching horns that they shed annually. Although both sexes of pronghorns have horns, the horns are usually much longer in males. Pronghorn bucks shed their horns in the fall after the mating season, whereas females typically shed their horns in midsummer. In contrast, antelopes have horns that do not branch and are never shed. All male antelopes and about two-thirds of females have horns. The size and shape of antelope horns range dramatically, from the tiny spikes of duikers to the majestic corkscrew horns (more than 160 cm [63 inches] long) of the greater kudu.
Pronghorns stand about 80–100 cm (31.5–39.4 inches) at the shoulder, and large northern males weigh about 40 kg (90 pounds) and the females slightly less. They are highly evolved runners—faster than any Old World antelope—and can attain a speed of 70 km (43 miles) per hour and leap 6 meters (20 feet) at a bound. Scientists think that pronghorns evolved to be so fast in order to outrun their Pleistocene predators, such as the extinct American cheetah. Whereas pronghorns live only in open plains and semideserts, antelope species occupy a wide range of landscapes, from dense forests to open savannas. Accordingly, antelopes’ size, shape, and locomotion range widely. Forest-dwelling species are small to medium-sized animals adapted for movement through undergrowth, with overdeveloped hindquarters, a rounded back, and short legs. By contrast, antelopes of open habitats are mostly medium to large animals and are built for speed, having level backs with long, equally developed limbs.