Pacific pronghorn (SciiFii)

The Pacific pronghorn (Antilocapra pacifica) is a species of pronghorn of the genus Antilocapra that originally lived in California during the Late Pleistocene and was once extinct, but has since been brought back from extinction by SciiFii and introduced throughout the modern open woodlands, grasslands, shrublands, and scrublands across Nevada, Arizona, Oregon, and California to help boost biodiversity. While closely related to the American pronghorn (Antilocapra americana), it is distinguished by aspects of horn core, orbit and temporal-fossa morphology. The Pacific pronghorn is also slightly larger and brighter in fur color than its relative. Pacific pronghorns feed on a wide variety of plant foods, often including plants unpalatable or toxic to domestic livestock, though they also compete with them for food. In one study, forbs comprised 58% of their diet, shrubs 27%, and grasses 16%, while in another, cacti comprised 40%, grass 22%, forbs 20%, and shrubs 18%. Pacific pronghorns also chew and eat (ruminate) cud. Pacific pronghorns form mixed-sex herds in the winter. In early spring, the herds break up, with young males forming bachelor groups, females forming harems, and adult males living solitarily. Some female bands share the same summer range, and bachelor male bands form between spring and fall. Females form dominance hierarchies with few circular relationships. Dominant females aggressively displace other females from feeding sites. Adult males either defend a fixed territory that females may enter, or defend a harem of females. A Pacific pronghorn may change mating strategies depending on environmental or demographic conditions. Where precipitation is high, adult males tend to be territorial and maintain their territories with scent marking, vocalizing, and challenging intruders. In these systems, territorial males have access to better resources than bachelor males. Females also employ different mating strategies. "Sampling" females visit several males and remain with each for a short time before switching to the next male at an increasing rate as estrous approaches. "Inciting" females behave as samplers until estrous, and then incite conflicts between males, watching and then mating with the winners. Before fighting, males try to intimidate each other. If intimidation fails, they lock horns and try to injure each other. "Quiet" females remain with a single male in an isolated area throughout estrous. Females continue this mating behavior for two to three weeks. When courting an estrous female, a male pronghorn approaches her while softly vocalizing and waving his head side to side, displaying his cheek patches. The scent glands on the Pacific pronghorn are on either side of the jaw, between the hooves, and on the rump. A receptive female remains motionless, sniffs his scent gland, and then allows the male to mount her. Pacific pronghorns have a gestation period of 6–7 months, which is longer than is typical for North American ungulates. They breed in mid-September, and the doe carries her fawn until late May. The gestation period is around a week longer than that of the white-tailed deer. Females usually bear within a few days of each other. Twin fawns are common. Newborn Pacific pronghorns weigh 2–4 kilograms (4.4–8.8 lbs), most commonly 3 kg (6.6 lb). In their first 21–26 days, fawns spend time hiding in vegetation. Fawns interact with their mothers for 20–25 minutes a day; this continues even when the fawn joins a nursery. The females nurse, groom, and lead their young to food and water, as well as keep predators away from them. Females usually nurse the young about three times a day. Males are weaned 2–3 weeks earlier than females. Sexual maturity is reached at 15 to 16 months, though males rarely breed until three years old. Their lifespan is typically up to 15 years, rarely 20 years. The conservation status of the Pacific pronghorn is Least Concern due to successful conservation efforts and the Pacific pronghorn's wide range.
Category:Animals
Category:Species
Category:SciiFii