as noted it belongs to the family of Antilocaprids.

Antilo = suffix denoting antelopes, their kith and kin;
+caprid = as of or pertaining to goatdom.

plainly put, an Antilocaprid is an “Antelope-goat”.

in some palaeontological texts, Antilocaprids are an ancient stock of ungulates that eventually differentiated into Antelopes and Goats.

unfortunately, taxonomists sometimes confuse matters and proceed to classify beasts with little or no regard for the fossil record:
in modern taxonomy, antelopes and goats are members of a separate family, the Bovidae (including cattle).

the implication to the taxonomical spin is: “interesting similarities, probably convergent evolution”

and so the swift Pronghorn is either:

a throwback to a form before goats and antelopes had emerged from the ancestral stock; or

a fellow ungulate with a curious blend of characteristics co-incidentally reminiscent of antelopes and goats.

shall we just call it a long-legged Jackalope?

It truly is sad the speed with which some North American habitats were actively decimated during industrialization and settlement of the continent.

To say nothing of the even worse extinctions that occurred around 10,000 years ago…

Evolution aside, these creatures are well adapted to North America, despite how anyone believes they came to be here, if America would only set aside a place for these creatures to abide I’m sure they would live and thrive.

Truly, man’s exploitation and interruption of their natural rhythms is why these creatures are in decline.

I’m find great common ground with scientists with a high degree of awareness, such as E.O.Wilson, Jared Diamond, and George Schaller who have written at length about our dilemma in perceptions about the wild world.

Most resentment from people over the reintroduction of animals, predators in particular, are due to the people’s lack of understanding, to be expected since we teach them so little about it. Show ‘em how they can make money and preserve the essentials of their lifestyles by preserving diversity and intact ecosystems and soon they themselves will insist that it was their idea in the first place.

I also wonder if in this rapidly industrialized world and with shrinking plainsland habitat, does the cheetah still have a chance to thrive in that ecology, or would it quickly be wiped out again? So horses aside, it seems few of the once plentiful prey animals remain, so I am not sure how much of a foothold the cheetah could hope to gain in this habitat the way it is now. And if it is feasible, would its reintroduction be too little too late? Any insights would be appreciated.

It truly is sad the speed with which some North American habitats were actively decimated during industrialization and settlement of the continent. These species went through all that time surviving and evolving, only to be wiped out in a fraction of the time by humans. It really is alarming when one thinks about it. I am sure the sight of vast herds of bison and pronghorn stretching out across the plains would have been a breathtaking sight to be sure. It is too bad we are likely never to have the pleasure of seeing such a majestic thing in our lifetimes.

I wish that the big cheetah-like cats that drove the pronghorn family’s evolution were still around. We’ll never know what they looked like for sure, but I’d guess they were beautiful creatures.

Pronghorns are endangered across their entire range, with some populations at much higher risk than others. But they were very numerous before the introduction of industry and industialized agriculture, and the human population explosion that followed. They are an integral part of the fauna of the American West, and it’s a shame that they have been brought to near extinction to make room for cattle, sheep, and wheat.

All over the world, animals that were very numerous before industrialization, such as the bison and pronghorn in America, and the large African herds, are on the way out. Maybe people will wake up from their complacency about the state of the environment and the animals within it in time to prevent their total extinction.