Not a true antelope but the last survivor of its own North American family, whose closest living relatives are the giraffe and okapi. It lives on the open plains of the American West and is the fastest land mammal in the Americas.
Quick answers
What is it?Mammal
Carnivore?No, herbivore
Dangerous?No
Domesticated?No
Awake when?Daytime
Hibernates?No
Kept as a pet?No
Do people eat it?Yes
Once a principal food of Plains peoples, and still legally hunted for food in the western US.
At a glance
Found inNorth America
HabitatGrassland
ColoursTan, White, Black
SizeMedium
LengthMales 1.3–1.5 m (nose to tail)
Height82–104 cm at the shoulder
WeightMales 40–65 kg; females 34–48 kg
Legs4
Covered inFur
Lives inherds
Lives for10–15 years
In the wild
- Where it lives
- Western and central North America, from southern Alberta and Saskatchewan through the western US into Mexico.
- What it eats
- Mostly forbs and shrubs, plus grasses and cacti, including plants toxic to livestock.
- Conservation
- Least Concern (IUCN Red List)
Did you know
The fastest land animal in the Americas, built to outrun a cheetah that went extinct.
It sheds the outer sheath of its horns and regrows it every year, which no true horned animal does.
Its huge eyes give it a 320° field of view.
Often confused with
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