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Kingdom:
Animalia Pronghorn Antelope |
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| Description
You are visitor # Last updated 11/14/02 |
Reproducttion:
Pronghorn are polygamous (Wright and Dow 1962). In the northern part of their range, breeding occurs during a three-week period between mid-September and early October. In the southern part of the range, breeding begins earlier in the year, in late July (Kitchen and O’Gara 1982). Usually, females give birth to one young after their first pregnancy and to two young in subsequent pregnancies. Gestation lasts 252 days (Hepworth and Blunt 1966). The weight of the newborn fawn ranges from 4.4 to 8.8 lbs. (2 to 4kg). The young have a gray pelage unlike that of the adults until they are three months old. They are odorless and will lie motionless as their main defense from predators. At three weeks the fawn consumes some vegetation but still suckles on the milk produced by the mother. Mother-young behavior is limited to grooming, orientation, and nursing behavior (Autenrieth and Fichter 1975). Although the behavioral repertoire is limited, the change in the mother-young relationship is complex and is critical to fawn socialization (Autenrieth and Fichter 1975). Young are sexually mature at 15 to 16 months (Wright and Dow 1962). Males generally do not mate at this age, however, because older bucks have possession of the breeding areas.
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