Pronghorn
Antilocapra americana (Ord, 1815)
The pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) is a mammal in the order Artiodactyla and the family Antilocapridae. It is a large, terrestrial herbivore with a cathemeral activity pattern, and adults weigh 46 kg, with reported values from 45.4 to 61.7 kg.
Quick facts about the pronghorn
Gestation lasts 247 days, females have one litter per year of 1.89 young (up to 2), and sexual maturity comes at 1.5 years. The pronghorn has a lifespan of 12 years, up to 15.5 years, and is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, not a threatened category.
- Weight
- 45.4 kg – 61.7 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 12 years – 15.5 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Herbivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Gestation
- 247 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 1.89 – 2src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 17.9 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Active
- Day and night (cathemeral)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the pronghorn
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the pronghorn live?
Not recorded
What is the pronghorn?
The pronghorn (UK: , US: ) (Antilocapra americana) is a species of artiodactyl (even-toed, hoofed) mammal indigenous to interior western and central North America. Though not an antelope, it is known colloquially in North America as the American antelope, prong buck, pronghorn antelope, and prairie antelope, because it closely resembles the antelopes of the Old World and fills a similar ecological niche due to parallel evolution. It is the only surviving member of the family Antilocapridae.
During the Pleistocene epoch, about 11 other antilocaprid species existed in North America, many with long or spectacularly twisted horns. Three other genera (Capromeryx, Stockoceros and Tetrameryx) existed when humans entered North America, but are now extinct.
The pronghorn's closest living relatives are the giraffe and okapi. The antilocaprids are part of the infraorder Pecora, making them distant relatives of deer, bovids, and moschids.
The pronghorn is the fastest land mammal in the Americas, with running speeds up to 55 mph (88.5 km/h). It is the symbol of the American Society of Mammalogists.
From the Wikipedia article “Pronghorn” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pronghorn&oldid=1380732916), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the pronghorn endangered?
The pronghorn is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the pronghorn classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderArtiodactyla
- familyAntilocapridae
- genusAntilocapra
- SpeciesAntilocapra americana (Ord, 1815)
Synonyms Antilocapra anteflexa, Antilope americana
Other names and names in other languages (50)
- American antelopeEnglish
- American pronghornEnglish
- American pronghornEnglish
- Mexican pronghornEnglish
- Mexican pronghornEnglish
- Prairie antelopeEnglish
- Prong buckEnglish
- Pronghorn antelopeEnglish
- ظبي أمريكيArabic
- شائك القرونArabic
- ظبي البراريArabic
- ظبي شائك القرونArabic
- antílope americanuAsturian
- Вилорога антилопаBulgarian
- Vidloroh americkýCzech
- GaffelbukDanish
- GaffelantilopeDanish
- GabelbockGerman
- Amerikanischer GabelbockGerman
- GabelantilopeGerman
- GabelhornantilopeGerman
- GabelhornbockGerman
- Αμερικάνικη ΑντιλόπηGreek
- AntilokaproEsperanto
- BerrendoSpanish
- hanka-antilooppiFinnish
- AntilocapreFrench
- Antilope AméricaineFrench
- Antilope d'AmériqueFrench
- אנטילוקפרה אמריקניתHebrew
- Rašljoroga antilopaCroatian
- villásszarvú antilopHungarian
- AntilocapraItalian
- プロングホーンJapanese
- რქაფიწალა ანტილოპაGeorgian
- 가지뿔영양Korean
- ŠakiaragisLithuanian
- GaffelbukkNorwegian Bokmål
- PrærieantilopeNorwegian Bokmål
- GaffelbokDutch
- Antylopa widłorogaPolish
- Widłoróg amerykańskiPolish
- ВилорогRussian
- Вилорогая антилопаRussian
- GaffelantilopSwedish
- Sivriboynuz AntilopTurkish
- ВилорігUkrainian
- Linh dương sừng nhánhVietnamese
- ɁáyɨsWasho
- 叉角羚Chinese
Relatives of the pronghorn
Other species in the same family Antilocapridae.
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is a pronghorn?
The pronghorn is a mammal in the order Artiodactyla and the family Antilocapridae. It is also called the prong buck, prairie antelope, American antelope or pronghorn antelope.
How heavy is a pronghorn?
An adult pronghorn weighs 46 kg, with reported values from 45.4 to 61.7 kg. This places it in the large size class.
Is the pronghorn endangered?
No. The pronghorn is listed as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
How long does a pronghorn live?
The pronghorn has a lifespan of 12 years, with values up to 15.5 years reported.
How many young does a pronghorn have?
A pronghorn has 1.89 young per litter, up to 2, and one litter per year. Gestation lasts 247 days.
Who named the pronghorn?
The pronghorn was named by Ord in 1815, and its scientific name is written Antilocapra americana (Ord, 1815).
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals · CC0 1.0 · 1.0
Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Pronghorn (Antilocapra americana). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/pronghorn
“Pronghorn (Antilocapra americana).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/pronghorn.
@misc{pronghorn_2026,
title = {Pronghorn (Antilocapra americana)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/pronghorn},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}