Pronghorn

The pronghorn is a hoofed mammal native to the open plains, grasslands and deserts of western North America, often called the American antelope even though it is not a true antelope but the sole surviving member of its own distinct family. It is renowned as the fastest land animal in the Western Hemisphere, capable of sustained speeds well over 55 kilometres per hour over long distances, an adaptation believed to have evolved in response to now-extinct North American predators such as ancient cheetah-like cats. Pronghorns have distinctive forked horns with a permanent bony core and a keratin sheath shed annually, a trait unique among horned mammals. Once numbering in the tens of millions before major population declines in the nineteenth century, pronghorn numbers have recovered substantially, and the species is classified as being of least concern.