Evolution of Speed: How Has the Clever Pronghorn Outlived The American Cheetah?

The pronghorn has outlived one of its fiercest predators, the now-extinct American cheetah. But how?

By Sara Novak
Jul 15, 2023 1:00 PM
Pronghorn Buck Running through Grassy Field
(Credit:Dan Martin/Shutterstock)

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The American pronghorn is a hoofed mammal native to North America. It's not an antelope, and it's not a sheep, although it has traditionally been called both.

Rather, the pronghorn is an even-toed ungulate that can run faster than most any animal on Earth, with the exception of the African cheetah. Clocking in at 61 miles per hour, the pronghorn can run faster than any predator that lives in its habitat, and it has extreme endurance, keeping up that pace for long periods of time.

So it begs to question: Why is the pronghorn so fast that no animal around it can catch up?

The Pronghorn During the Pleistocene

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