DENVER – Last week, it was bighorn sheep roaming the steep slopes of Pikes Peak, viewed through the lens of a Colorado Parks and Wildlife drone.
Now we're getting an aerial view of the fastest land-animal in the western hemisphere.
CPW officials – continuing their summer counts and surveys of wildlife across the state – took a ride in a Cessna plane this week to get a better look at the herds of pronghorn.
The pronghorn resembles an antelope, and in Colorado you'll find them over the eastern plains and in the large mountain valleys, like in South Park, southwest of Denver, where CPW spotted a herd on Tuesday and Wednesday.
As you can see on the videos below, the pronghorns can move, reaching speeds of more than 60 mph. According to CPW, the pronghorn's speed is the second-fastest in the world, trailing only the cheetah.
(1/5) In Colorado, pronghorn are found on the eastern plains, in the larger mountain parks and valleys (like you see here from our aerial survey over South Park on Tuesday and Wednesday) and on shrublands west of the mountains. pic.twitter.com/D8hMPeA8g3
— CPW NE Region (@CPW_NE) August 15, 2019
(2/5) August is our optimal time to classify our pronghorn herds. That is because it is easier to determine the distribution of the animals (males/females/fawns). This important data recorded during aerial surveys allows us to understand the population trajectory & performance. pic.twitter.com/qskSpFQLZh
— CPW NE Region (@CPW_NE) August 15, 2019
The CPW this week was working to classify the pronghorn herds. August is typically the best time to classify pronghorn, as the males are together in "bachelor herds" while the females are grouped with the younger pronghorn, according to CPW. Starting around mid-September, the pronghorn will breed and then give birth to fawns next May and June.