Once upon a time, in the American West, hundreds of thousands of pronghorn antelope were seen as settlers traveled from the east to the west. Settlers marveled at how many pronghorns were around, but just as the West was being settled, the pronghorn started to disappear in record numbers. Now, the pronghorn antelope is known as the prairie ghost because of their scarcity.

The pronghorn antelope is the only species of antelope found in North America, and though they are starting to make a comeback, thanks to the Endangered Species Act, they are still threatened. The two biggest threats to their survival come from hunters who kill them for sport and for meat, and from habitat destruction. Before settlers came to the West, the pronghorn could be found from eastern Washington and southern Manitoba throughout the southwestern United States. Now, the pronghorn is found primarily in the plains of Alberta and Saskatchewan in Canada, and pockets throughout the northwestern United States.

The pronghorns were easy prey for most hunters. After fleeing from danger, they will return to the scene to see what the danger actually was. It didn't take hunters too long to figure out that if they put a piece of cloth on a stick and waved it around in the air, after waiting a couple minutes, the pronghorn would come back, curious to see what was going on, and then the hunter could get an easy shot at them.

Before the west was settled, estimates of how many pronghorns roamed the open prairie were as high as a couple million; however, by 1920, only about 20,000 were left in the wild. At that point, conservationists knew that something had to be done to help save the only antelope in America. In 1935, the Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge was established in Oregon as a sanctuary for this species. Thanks to conservation efforts, the population of the antelope has now been increased to about 50,000. Unfortunately, in several states, controlled hunting is still permitted which conservationists are lobbying to have stopped.

The pronghorns are easy to spot for a hunter as well. They resemble the white-tailed deer; however, they truly have "pronged" horns. These horns are made up by a bony core covered by annually-shed keratinous sheath around the horns. Their fur is usually reddish brown with a white underbelly. Male pronghorns also have a black mask and black patches on the sides of their necks.

Mating season for the pronghorn depends on where they live. Pronghorns in the northern part of their range breed during a three week period between mid September through early October. In the southern part of the range, breeding occurs earlier in the year, usually in July or August. Gestation will last for approx. 8½ months, and they have about one or two young. The young pronghorn's coat is a gray color, but will turn to the natural reddish brown of an adult pronghorn within the first year. At four days, the young can already outrun a human; an adult pronghorn can run up to 60 mph. Young are sexually mature at about 15-16 months; however, they usually won't mate until they are three years of age.

The pronghorn's diet consists mainly of grasses and brush, and the average lifespan for a captive pronghorn is 11 years. If left to themselves, most conservationists believe that the pronghorn has a good chance of survival now; however, if hunting continues, then the outlook is bleak for the survival of this species. If it hadn't been for early conservation efforts, including the creation of pronghorn sanctuaries, the pronghorn would have very little chance of surviving, but with those efforts, there is hope for the survival of this animal.