Robust oil and gas development and a gradual increase in trees in parts of Wyoming may be making the state’s iconic pronghorn more vulnerable to population decline, according to new research.
Scientists from the University of Wyoming; University of Nebraska, Lincoln; and the University of Florida found that the mammals’ productivity — meaning the number of fawns relative to 100 adult females in each herd — declined “significantly” in 43 percent of Wyoming herds between 1984 and 2019.
Pronghorns, commonly mislabeled as antelopes, are ubiquitous in the Cowboy State, where roughly half of the world’s pronghorn live. The fleet-footed animal has the build of a small deer and is recognizable for its hooked horns and the dark brown slash along its nose. Though the North American mammal stands at just about 3.5-feet tall, one of its closest relatives is the African giraffe.
Researchers found that the biggest factors driving the long-term decline in productivity were an increase in tree cover in some areas and an increase in oil and gas wells. Both are disturbances that the animals avoid, according to the study, published in April in the journal Global Ecology and Conservation.
