Pronghorn belong to Montana’s wide-open country, and the 1,275 records show it, concentrated in the broad valleys and sagebrush plains of Park, Beaverhead, and Madison counties. Yellowstone National Park holds the largest single cluster, with Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge and surrounding state trust lands adding strong tallies.
Built for speed on open ground
The pronghorn is the fastest land animal in North America, able to hold 40 miles an hour for minutes at a stretch, and its oversized eyes pick up movement at distances no stalking predator could cross unseen. Everything about it assumes open ground, which is why it favors grassland and sagebrush flats and struggles where fences or deep snow block its path. It rarely jumps fences at all, preferring to slip under them, a trait that shapes where herds can travel.
Two pulses in the year
Records pulse twice, first in May and June when does drop their fawns on the open range, then again in August and September as the rut brings bucks into the open to gather and defend harems. Montana herds shift seasonally between summer and winter range, and the September crest, the highest month of the year, matches the height of that autumn movement.
Status in Montana
NatureServe ranks the pronghorn S5, Secure, in Montana, and the species is native to the state. USGS NAS does not list it as nonindigenous here.
Full species profile
