With Fewer Than 100 Pronghorn Antelopes Left in the Wild, Elks Eagerly Anticpate Taking the Gold
The Pronghorn Antelope, which stands about 3 feet tall, is sometimes referred to as an antelope. It is the fastest land animal in North America, capable of speeds of 60 mph. It once ranged as far north as where Interstate 10 now crosses Arizona, as far east as the Baboquivari Mountains, west to the Colorado River and on south into Mexico.
Pronghorn were squeezed out of their home range in the early 20th century as ranching, farming and roads carved up their range. Hunting and cattle-borne disease thinned their numbers. It's hard to know for certain everything that led to the decline because nobody studied pronghorn as they were displaced. But some biologists have estimated there were only 100 Sonoran pronghorn left in the United States by 1925.
Today, there are only three Sonoran pronghorn populations in the world: two in northern Mexico and one in the United States. The U.S. herd lives on the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge, a vast stretch of desert wilderness southwest of Phoenix, managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The refuge's 860,000 acres has no paved roads and, more importantly, no fences. Pronghorn will reluctantly cross roads, but they don't jump well.
As biologists began a study during the 20th century, the number of pronghorn continued to hover around 100, rising and falling with the rainfall in the desert. Researchers assumed that pronghorn have historically survived droughts and predators. Some even went so far as to say pronghorn do not need water to survive.
But the pronghorn struggled in the drought that gripped the state over the past decade, and in 2002, their entire range went dry. The refuge and the thousands of acres of additional habitat around it didn't get any rain.
In 2002, biologists watched as the last of the herd was reduced to eating cholla, slowly starving to death and more than likely within a few weeks of dying. When rains finally came, the herd stabilized, but the agencies watching the animals knew that something had to be done.
Researchers began to evaluate some new studies on the animal's habits and nutritional needs, studying the nutritional value of the foods the animals were eating. They also tracked their movements to free-standing water - in other words, pronghorn probably do need water to survive. Historically, there may have been times when parts of their range were prone to flooding, but some of these areas are now cut off by fences, canals, roads, agriculture.
After the crash, watering holes were set up on the refuge, and in 2003, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Arizona Game and Fish Department built a mile-square pen, divided into two sections. A few pronghorn were brought in from Mexico to help stock the pens. From 2003 to 2008, this captive population grew, and as it did, biologists subdued some of the animals with tranquilizer guns and released them into the wild.
By June 2009, there were about 70 pronghorn in the wild and 70 in the pen, including 30 fawns. This is essentially where we stand in a typically human vs wildlife scenario - first we neasrly kill 'em off, then we scrample to preserve what's left. Nearby, an elk herd watches with mixed feelings.
