Antelope Insights For Hunters

Monday, September 15, 2008
Hunting

This article was Archived on Wednesday, October 15, 2008

• Antelope tend to use landscapes with a 10 percent or less slope, though they can and do occupy steeper terrain. Antelope generally avoid slopes of 20 percent or more.
• Rugged landscapes may affect antelope survival because mountain lions and other predators favor this habitat.
• Winter precipitation appears to be more important to antelope than summer precipitation. Studies in the Southwest U.S. have shown that pronghorn populations require a minimum of two inches of precipitation from October through March.
• When snow depths exceed 10-12 inches antelope can have trouble finding forage. Prolonged periods of deep snow, limited forage, cold and crusted snow can negatively affect antelope survival.
• Antelope generally breed for the first time at 16-17 months of age. The gestation period, which averages 252 days, is long compared to similar-sized ruminants.
• Pronghorn are selective, opportunistic foragers, feeding on grasses, forbs, shrubs, and trees, depending on plant palatability and availability. Extensive studies of the antelope’s diet rated plant types as: 4.7 for forbs, 1.5 for shrubs, and 0.2 for grasses. Antelope will favor areas with abundant, palatable forbs throughout the year.
• Adult pronghorns require an average of 2.5-3.0 pounds of forage per day. Research shows that antelope consume less than 1percent of the forage produced on Western rangelands. Also, antelope seldom seem to suffer from eating normally toxic plants.
• Pronghorn seldom live more than nine years under natural conditions.

Source: The Pronghorn Management Guide published by the 21 st Pronghorn Workshop and North Dakota Game and Fish Department, Bismarck, N.D.