A handsome pronghorn was spotted Saturday in Vaughn, about 85 miles southeast of Santa Fe. Pronghorns are usually timid, but not this one. Pronghorn are one of North America’s most impressive mammals. Not only do pronghorn have the longest land migration in the continental United States, they also are the fastest land animal in North America. Pronghorn can run at speeds close to 60 miles an hour. Although pronghorn are not as fast as cheetahs, they can maintain a fast speed for a longer period of time. Pronghorn are related to goats and antelope. Their most noticeable characteristic is also the source of their common name. Both males and females have a pair of short horns on the top of the head. The female’s horns are small, usually only a bump. In contrast, the males’ horns are around 10 to 12 inches long and point backward. Pronghorn have large eyes and fantastic vision. They can spot predators from very far away, which is helpful on their flat grassland habitat. They eat grasses, forbs, sagebrush and other prairie plants. They seldom drink water because they receive most of their water from the plants they eat. Threats to pronghorn include habitat loss, human-wildlife conflicts, and overexploitation due to historic hunting, which greatly reduced the population size. Two subspecies of pronghorn are on the endangered species list: Peninsular pronghorn and Sonoran pronghorn. Source: National Wildlife. Photo by Michael Smith