Category

Pronghorn

The fastest land animal on the North American continent, the pronghorn is believed to have evolved its great speed to escape the now-extinct American cheetah. However, the construction of fences, roads, and railroads, and the encroachment of mesquite, tarbush, creosote and other invasive brush species, has hemmed in its fast runs and long migrations, contributing to steep declines in its Texas population in the first decade of the 21st century.

Interviews

Narrator: Shawn GrayTitle: TranslocationDuration: 00:02:59Date: August 22, 2023Since the 1920s, the State of Texas has been transferring pronghorn antelope from regions of surplus to areas where they are scarce. Here, Shawn Gray, a Texas Parks and Wildlife biologist, explains the gradual trial and error of improving those translocation efforts, including work to beware of droughts, to modify fences, and to protect against predators.Narrator: Billy TarrantTitle: 80 or 100 YearsDuration: 00:02:48Date: August 21, 2023Billy Tarrant, the manager of the Center for Land Stewardship and Stakeholder Engagement at Sul Ross State University in Alpine, and previously a wildlife biologist at Texas Parks and Wildlife, has been involved in pronghorn antelope study and conservation for many years. Here he describes efforts to beat back decades of brush encroachment in the Trans-Pecos, to benefit the pronghorn and wintering birds that are so reliant on open grasslands.