Pronghorn in Desert Snow

by Mike Lee

Title

Pronghorn in Desert Snow

Artist

Mike Lee

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Photograph - Digital

Description

While out for a country drive in northern Lassen County, California, USA, I almost had a head-on collision with two pronghorns that were running straight at me down the country road I was on. Apparently, they weren’t keen on traveling through the snow that, on this particular January morning, was a bit deeper than it typically gets in this part of the high desert. After the near miss, I turned around and followed them, keeping my distance so it was a “follow” and not a “chase” for the animals’ safety. They cruised along at a modest for them 20 mph for what I’d estimate was half a mile before finding an area with shallower snow they could graze a bit in. I grabbed this shot of one of them from my mobile wildlife blind (AKA Toyota Camry) while still on the road.

This time of year, the animals only have the two “prongs” on their head having shed the forked antler like sheath that grows over the top of them later in the year. This hybrid horn/antler is just one of many ways the American Pronghorn is an amazing and unique creature

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January 6th, 2022

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