Speed Goat

by Mike Lee

Title

Speed Goat

Artist

Mike Lee

Medium

Photograph - Digital Photography

Description

Ok, not a goat but some folks use the slang “goat” when referring to one. The American Pronghorn is also commonly referred to as an “antelope” but it isn’t truly an antelope either. Rather, it is a species of its own. The “speed” is certainly accurate though. They are the fastest land mammal in the western hemisphere and possibly the fastest on Earth in sustained runs. They have been clocked at speeds in excess of 55 miles per hour and what’s most amazing to me is the terrain in which they can attain and sustain these speeds. They can run like that in the sort of rocky terrain that literally hurts my feet to walk in! They are truly amazing creatures and very challenging to photograph as they are also quite skittish. It takes very little to get them to display that speed AWAY from you! I have many poor images of their behinds as they ran away and felt blessed that this one ran perpendicular to my position just long enough for me to grab a shot.

I captured the image in a high desert area known as the Smoke Creek Desert in Lassen County, California, USA. The area is managed by The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and hosts a healthy population of pronghorn as well as wild horses and burros. It is also fairly remote country much of which is only accessible on foot or horseback or a VERY rugged and reliable vehicle (and take LOTS of water).

Uploaded

September 15th, 2021

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