Category: Pronghorn

Pronghorn

Where to See Pronghorns in Yellowstone National Park

Photo of pronghorn.
A pronghorn buck walks along a ridge in the Slough Creek Area.

Yellowstone has 200 to 300 pronghorns.  They only exist in the Park in its northern range.  They spend winters in the Gardiner Basin and some, but not all, migrate from there to spend summers at higher elevations in the Park as far as the Lamar Valley.

One way to see them is to drive the Old Yellowstone Trail in the Gardiner Basin.  Start at the Park’s Roosevelt Arch and drive north around the west side of the Gardiner school and then continue on the gravel road until you get to the boat launch just before the bridge that crosses the Yellowstone River.  At that point you can either turn around and head back the way you came or you can cross the bridge, get on Highway 89,  and drive at highway speed back to Gardiner.  Pronghorn are here year round.  Note to photographers:  For most of this route the land looks to be in bad shape vegetation-wise, but gets better at the north end.  By the way, when you get back to the Roosevelt Arch look for pronghorn in that half mile or so between the Arch and the entrance booth.

The other option is to head for the Lamar Valley and look for them any place between Mammoth and the Lamar Valley that has open terrain.  I usually take a detour and drive the road to the Slough Creek Campground because I often see a few pronghorn there.  By the time you get to the confluence where Soda Butte Creek joins the Lamar River you will have covered about all the pronghorn habitat that can be seen from a vehicle.   The area from Mammoth to the Lamar Valley is summer range only.

Pronghorn

Another Wounded Pronghorn at Yellowstone?

Photo of a pronghorn buck with a possible wound.
Pronghorn Buck; Slough Creek, Yellowstone National Park

Here’s a pronghorn buck that I also saw and photographed last May.  It was in the Slough Creek area.  It’s also missing a chunk of hair at the top of the shoulders.  It also seems to be missing some flesh, but it’s hard to be certain because of the angle of view.  The doe in the previous posts provided a good view of her wound because she was  walking downhill.  The only point of posting this image is that it is the second pronghorn I saw in May that seems to have a wound in about the same place.  I find that interesting.  Was it a golden eagle?  I don’t know, but it’s possible.

Pronghorn

Cause of Pronghorn’s Wound; Yellowstone National Park

Photo of pronghorn doe that seems to have suffered some serious injury to her neck.
What happened to this pronghorn?

Only one person took a guess on what had happened to this pronghorn.  She guessed a bear.  A good guess.   I thought I’d get a few more people to venture a guess.  Maybe some were afraid to guess wrong.  That presumes I would be providing the answer to what happened though.  The fact of the matter is that I don’t know for sure what happened to her.  I do have my own guess though.  I think a golden eagle attacked this pronghorn.  Why?

First of all, golden eagles have been observed by credible sources (published reports by biologists) attacking and killing pronghorn adults and fawns.   The attach begins by the eagle chasing one or more pronghorns and landing on the back of one and riding it while digging its talons into the pronghorn’s back.  Most of the damage is caused by the talons, although their beaks can also inflict injury.  If you’d like to read some of these reports you can click here, here and here.

Second, someone took several photos of a golden eagle eating an adult pronghorn while riding on its back.  Based on the photos, I assume (and hope) it died shortly thereafter.  The pictures have appeared in various places on the internet.  One place to see the photos is here.  I should warn you that the photos are somewhat gruesome.  I was hesitant to link to the photos, but decided on balance to do so with the warning.  The wound to the pronghorn in the photos is in the same place as in my photo and that’s why I guess the wound is from a golden eagle.  Anything is possible though.  It could be from another animal or a vehicle or a barbed wire fence (or whatever).

She was feeding when I saw her so the attack was over by then.  I hope she survived.

Black Bear, Grizzly Bear, Pronghorn

Yellowstone’s Bears Have Disappeared

Well, not really.  It’s just that they’re not grazing on grass as much any more and thus not as easy to see.  Elk (and pronghorn and bighorn) are giving birth and the word is out.  Grass was OK when meat wasn’t readily available, but now that meat is available the bears don’t have to settle for grass.  They need the protein to survive.  As I was driving from Mammoth to Gardiner yesterday there was a traffic jam mid-way due to a black bear kill of an elk calf.  This can be unsettling when you experience it, but that’s nature and let’s not forget most of us eat meat and it’s not much different, except we rely mostly on others to do our bidding.

Photo of pronghorn doe nursing fawn.
Mom and Baby

I don’t have any photos of elk calves yet, but I saw this female pronghorn and her twins close to the Roosevelt Arch the past couple of days.  I’ve gotten attached to them from photographing them.  I hope they survive the next four days or so until then can keep up with mom.

Pronghorn

Pronghorn Buck in the Rut

A photo of a pronghorn facing the camera.
Pronghorn Buck, Yellowstone National Park

I’m still working on upgrading the images on my website.  I’ve finished the mammals that start with a “B” (six species) and jumped ahead a bit to look at the pronghorn images from my trip to Yellowstone this past September.  The pronghorn rut was underway.  This buck was curious about me and came in for a closer look.

Pronghorn

Pronghorn Rut, Yellowstone National Park

Photo of a pronghorn buck during the rut.
Pronghorn Buck Defends His Harem

I’m in Yellowstone.  I came for the rut.  It’s been quite warm and that may have slowed things down a bit.

This buck was busy defending his harem.  I observed him for about an hour before sunset and he was kept busy by four other bucks.  He chased them all away without a fight.   It’s a bit like swatting flies though.

Photo of a pronghorn buck during the rut.
The Rut Is On.

This buck was on a course which would bring him through the harem.  He watched from a few hundred yards away and finally skirted around the above buck and his harem.  I’m not sure why he didn’t act like the other bucks.  Maybe he’d say he’s a lover, not a fighter.  But that doesn’t work.  In the pronghorn world, the only lovers are the fighters.