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Pronghorn Photos

Photography by Terry Sohl

My Favorite: The fastest draw in the West isn't a gunslinger, it's the Pronghorn, a unique, incredible animal of the grasslands that's not only capable of great bursts of speed, but are capable of running long-distance marathons. The vast majority of Pronghorns are west of the Missouri River in South Dakota, so for a guy near the intersection of South Dakota, Iowa, and Minnesota, it's a few hour drive to get into an area where I could reasonable expect to find one. However, there are parts of western South Dakota where they're pretty common and easy to find.  I often see them when I'm birding on the Fort Pierre National Grasslands or Buffalo Gap National Grasslands. Pronghorn there aren't as skittish as some animals, but they're generally not in the mood to stick around for photos. Therefore despite all the Pronghorn I've seen on the National Grasslands over the years, I don't have all that many photos of them there.

Most of the "good" photos of Pronghorn below are from two places, one in state, and one outside of South Dakota. The commonality between both of those locations...it's protected land where Pronghorn aren't hunted, and as a result, the animals there are generally much, much more tolerant of human beings. Yellowstone National Park is one place where we often see Pronghorn, mostly in the northern part of the park near Mammoth Hot Springs, and particularly in the northeastern part of the park in the Lamar Valley. There they have much more important things to worry about than human beings (e.g., wolves that might want to make a meal out of one). I thus have some photos of Pronghorn from Yellowstone.

However, it's the Pronghorn of Custer State Park in the Black Hills of South Dakota that are the camera hogs. They can sometimes be VERY tame there, foraging alongside a road with no care of the passing traffic. They're a bit more shy when you're out hiking in the park, but they're still much more cooperative for photographs than Pronghorn elsewhere in South Dakota. My favorite photo of the species comes from Custer State Park, and catches one in very nice warm evening light, with some terrific vegetation and flowers as a backdrop. I'm also really fond of some of the closeup portraits below.  A beautiful, wonderful part of the South Dakota landscape!!

Pronghorn - Antilocapra americana

Pronghorn 1 - Antilocapra americana

Pronghorn 2 - Antilocapra americana

Pronghorn 3 - Antilocapra americana

Pronghorn 4 - Antilocapra americana

Pronghorn 1

Pronghorn 2

Pronghorn 3

Pronghorn 4

August 23rd, 2004

September 2nd, 2020

September 2nd, 2020

July 4th, 2008

Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Custer State Park, South Dakota

Custer State Park, South Dakota

Fort Pierre National Grasslands, South Dakota

Adult in sagebrush habitat in the Lamar Valley

Pronghorn foraging in the late evening sun 

Head-on closeup of Pronghorn buck

Herd of Pronghorn running from camera, showing fluffy white behinds

Pronghorn 5 - Antilocapra americana

Pronghorn 6 - Antilocapra americana

Pronghorn 7 - Antilocapra americana

Pronghorn 8 - Antilocapra americana

Pronghorn 5

Pronghorn 6

Pronghorn 7

Pronghorn 8

September 2009

May 2008

May 2008

September 2007

Custer State Park, South Dakota

Custer State Park, South Dakota

Custer State Park, South Dakota

Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Female pronghorn foraging in dry grasslands

Scruffy looking buck foraging in wet conditions

Head on closeup of Pronghorn buck head, bit bedraggled and wet

Pronghorn foraging in dry scrub near Mammoth Hot Springs, Wyoming

Pronghorn 9 - Antilocapra americana

Pronghorn 10 - Antilocapra americana

Pronghorn 11 - Antilocapra americana

Pronghorn 12 - Antilocapra americana

Pronghorn 9

Pronghorn 10

Pronghorn 11

Pronghorn 12

September 2007

August 2007

August 2007

August 2007

Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Pronghorn moving through dry scrub in Yellowstone

Young first-of-year Pronghorn in the Lamar Valley

Young first-year Pronghorn foraging in dry grassland

Pair of young Pronghorns pondering a game of king-of-the-hill

Pronghorn 13 - Antilocapra americana

Pronghorn 14 - Antilocapra americana

Pronghorn 15 - Antilocapra americana

Pronghorn 16 - Antilocapra americana

Pronghorn 13

Pronghorn 14

Pronghorn 15

Pronghorn 16

July 2011

April 26th, 2019

April 26th, 2019

September 2nd, 2020

Harding County, South Dakota

Fort Pierre National Grasslands, South Dakota

Fort Pierre National Grasslands, South Dakota

Custer State Park, South Dakota

Pronghorn buck with typical grassland habitat

Group of female and first-year Pronghorn moving through the prairie

Pair of curious Pronghorn pausing for a look

Closeup profile of buck Pronghorn with great detail of the face 

Pronghorn 17 - Antilocapra americana

Pronghorn 18 - Antilocapra americana

Pronghorn 19 - Antilocapra americana

Pronghorn 20 - Antilocapra americana

Pronghorn 17

Pronghorn 18

Pronghorn 19

Pronghorn 20

September 2nd, 2020

September 2nd, 2020

September 2nd, 2020

June 27th, 2020

Custer State Park, South Dakota

Custer State Park, South Dakota

Custer State Park, South Dakota

Wind Cave National Park, South Dakota

Pronghorn foraging alongside a gravel road in Custer State Park

Male Pronghorn foraging in relatively lush grassland and flowers 

Close head-on view of an inquisitive Pronghorn

Male and three females in grassland habitat

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