Inside the fastest land animal in Idaho

Inside Idaho
The stories of Idaho’s history, places, and oddities

If you’ve driven across Idaho’s wide open country, you may have spotted a heard of pronghorn.

The animals, which often get confused for antelope, are considered to be the fastest land mammal in the Western Hemisphere, according to Idaho Fish and Game. The mammals can run up to 60 miles per hour and can run long distances – sustaining speeds of 30 to 45 miles per hour.

Running the distance

“The cheetah is a faster sprinter. It would win in a short-distance race, but the pronghorn would win a long-distance race,” IFG notes. “It would still be going long after the cheetah stopped.”

Once hunted by cheetahs, saber-toothed cats, and lions that roamed North America, today, their biggest predators are bobcats and coyotes which mainly go after young pronghorn.

“When pronghorn spot danger, they have a way to warn other pronghorn. They stick up the white hairs on their rumps,” IFG notes. “On a bright day, the signal may be seen for miles. This is a cue for other pronghorn to do what they do best – run!”

Their quickness makes them a challenge for Idaho hunters. Not only do they have great hearing, but they also have a great sense of smell and eyesight. Pronghorn’s eyeballs are the size of a horse’s – allowing them to spot a moving object from four miles away.

“You might say they have built-in binoculars. Although pronghorns can detect a moving object miles away, they may ignore a person standing still just 50 feet away,” IFG’s website notes. “Something needs to move for a pronghorn to see it.”

Not antelope

If you look up pronghorn, you’ll find many call them “pronghorn antelope.” However, pronghorn are not related to antelope in any way.

“Pronghorn may look like the antelope that roam the African plains, but they are really very different animals,” IFG notes. They are a part of the Antilocapridae Family and are the only members with no close relatives.

According to IFG, pronghorn can be playful with humans – racing vehicles driving on roads through their habitat.