Until I saw a Yellowstone Pronghorn about 10 years ago I didn’t know these animals existed. I’m enjoying learning more about them and photographing them now that I’ve made their acquaintance.

Pronghorn are unique to North America and are the fastest land animal in the Western Hemisphere. They run at speeds up to 60 mph. Pronghorn look like and are sometimes called Pronghorn Antelope but are not part of the antelope family.

These speedy deer-like animals are one of my favorite photography subjects in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. I’ve had the most success finding Pronghorn at Yellowstone near Gardiner, MT, just outside the park’s north entrance and in the Lamar Valley. I took these photos in mid-September 2021 from the park’s NE entrance road that runs through the Lamar Valley.

In some cases, Pronghorn may be fairly close and easy to photograph but can be quite skittish so you don’t want to get too close. A telephoto lens is your friend. These shots were taken with a 500mm lens which was OK for this particular Pronghorn but in many cases I wished I had more lens. That’s even with a DX crop sensor camera (Nikon D500) which made the effective length of my lens 750mm.

I’m looking forward to more Yellowstone Pronghorn adventures is future visits. One subject on my wildlife photography bucket list is Pronghorn fawns which are typically born in late May or early June. So a future spring visit is a must!