Antelope are funny critters. You can pretty much predict the reactions of whitetails and mulies. But an antelope is capable of surprising you. Sometimes you'll come upon them and they'll stand at fairly close range and just stare at you, as if they couldn't care less what you are or what you plan to do. Other times they won't let you get within half a mile.
I saw several today and they were all skittish, like this little lady who clearly didn't want her portrait made.
"No pictures, please! Call my agent."
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I've had much the same experiences, Rio. Sometimes they've just stood there looking at me as if to say, "So what kind of critter are you?" Other times I've bumped 'em coming over a rise or they've cleared cover, taken one look at me and headed for the horizon on afterburner.
The better educated individuals? I dunno. I'd think the only way for a pronghorn to hoover up that sort of lore would be to get dead, at which juncture it's pretty pointless.
'Berg
Mark, I had a really unfortunate incident the other day. I was on my way to town and a young antelope buck was ahead of me on the road. We were on a section that was between two eight-strand electrified fences belonging to Buffalo Man.
I slowed way, way down. Less than a walk really, hoping that the youngster would either move ahead or slip in behind me so I could speed up and leave him behind.
No. The dummy tried to jump THROUGH the fence. He actually launched up quite a ways, with his head hitting the fence and going through at about four or five feet. He got hung up for a few seconds and I could see his body jerking to the current of the fence. He tried one more time and while he was getting shocked this second time I shot ahead and left him behind. He ran back along the road the way we had come, apparently OK.
But I sure hated to see him getting shocked like that. Sometimes I feel like I'd like to toss Buffalo Man into one of his fences and see how he likes it.
I've noticed that pronghorns don't seem to be too alarmed by a car going up next to them, but if you stop the car and open the door they are off like a shot.
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