Pronghorn Big Buck Prancing
I see many things in my backyard. (I have a pretty big backyard). Among the large cast of characters hanging out around our place is this Pronghorn Buck.
This Young buck has pretty tall horns from my limited experience… Horn sheath growth in Pronghorns is a unique characteristic among ungulates in that they actually have horns. They shed that sheath yearly. I seldom find them… They don’t shed them here, they migrate south and drop them in the Thunder Basin National Grasslands. While Horns are hollow, composed of keratin… basically the same as our fingernails.. Antlers however are made of bone Pronghorn have different headgear that most North American ungulates.
The horn composed of a slender/flattened blade of bone grows from the front of the skull forming the permanent core of the horn. Retained the core is. The pronghorn leaves only the sheath behind. I RARELY find them shed on my place. They usually shed after they migrate to the Thunderbasin National Grassland 30 miles south each winter. They disintegrate quickly I understand. “Clever Girl” my black Ford F-150 Raptor is being well tolerated.. . The local wildlife doesn’t seem to see it a threat. My old Blue Grand Cherokee Jeep was noisy moving across the prairie. Not so much this new rig. I have spent some good photographic time aside some larger groups of Pronghorn already this summer where I was the one to move away. Leaving them to continue grazing.
Location: Bliss Dinosaur Ranch, Wyoming / Montana borderlands (Wyotana)
Title: Pronghorn Big Buck Prancing