We all heard yesterday that the bald eagle was taken off the endangered species list. (Hadn't heard? Here's the scoop on the eagle numbers, and also a GNN article on the decision to delist from last year.)
Here's some good news about another animal that was on the verge of extinction. America's fastest mammal, the Sonoran pronghorn, is backing away from the brink sooner than expected…
The animals, often mistaken for deer or antelope, had been pushed by severe drought to the edge of extinction, yet now their numbers are growing. The birth of 18 fawns this spring is encouraging, since five years ago there were none but a handful that survived. The population is back above 100 for the animal, which lives in the harsh deserts of southwestern Arizona, thanks to a captive breeding program within a square-mile enclosure of the national refuge there.
The swiift pronghorn, built for maximum predator evasion, can sustain speeds of 60 miles per hour — only the cheetah is faster.
I live in Wyoming, there are thousands and thousands of antelope in Wyoming. I mean thousands of them. Always have been. Sorry, don’t buy it.