{"id":6519,"date":"2012-11-06T05:27:36","date_gmt":"2012-11-06T12:27:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=6519"},"modified":"2026-03-01T07:04:52","modified_gmt":"2026-03-01T13:04:52","slug":"the-horns-of-pronghorns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/11\/06\/the-horns-of-pronghorns\/","title":{"rendered":"The Horns of Pronghorns"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"PronghornPronghorn buck in horn regrowth – Nikon D300, f10, 1\/320, ISO 1000, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 200mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Yesterday some Pronghorns came so close to the vehicle that I had two choices; 1. grab the back up D200 with the Nikkor 18-200mm VR lens attach and photograph the Pronghorn with it or, 2. Use the D300 with the 200-400mm VR + 1.4x TC attached and do close-ups.<\/p>\n

Since I have many fully body images I decided to do close-ups and I am glad that I did. The image above is 100% full frame and I was barely able to get the tips of the ears of the buck to fit.<\/p>\n

\"CloseClose up showing the horns of a male Pronghorn – Nikon D300, f10, 1\/320, ISO 1000, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 200mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

The Pronghorn rut season is over and the pronghorns are in the process of replacing the outer sheathing on their horns. The horns of Pronghorns are composed of a permanent slender, laterally flattened blade of bone that is covered by a keratinous sheath that grows around the bony core that is shed and regrown annually.<\/p>\n

In the image above the flattened blades of bone can be seen at the tips, notices how slender the horns are there. The hair-like keratin regrowth begins at the base of the horn and moves towards the tips. I find it fascinating that in this frame the hair-like keratin is plainly visible where the horns are regrowing and that it also shows the regrowth process is not yet complete.<\/p>\n

Keratin is the substance that human hair and fingernails are also composed of.<\/p>\n

\"AdultAdult Pronghorn buck portrait with sunflowers – Nikon D300, f6.3, 1\/1250, ISO 800, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

This image shows a buck before the outer sheath has been shed, notice that his horns are relatively smooth, slightly shiny at the tips and show no signs of being “hairy”.<\/p>\n

Pronghorns<\/span><\/a> are the only North American mammal that retain their horns yet shed and replace the outer sheath annually.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Pronghorn photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The horns of Pronghorns are composed of a permanent slender, laterally flattened blade of bone that is covered by a keratinous sheath. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":170782,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[511,1022,183,26],"tags":[4004,4096,970,4184,4620,4799,1950,4062,1952,185,4020,4855,1951,4800,1953],"class_list":["post-6519","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-antelope-island-state-park","category-davis-county-utah","category-pronghorn","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-antilocapra-americana","tag-autumn","tag-buck","tag-fall","tag-horn-sheath","tag-keratin","tag-male","tag-outer-sheath","tag-pronghorn","tag-pronghorn-antelope","tag-pronghorns","tag-regrowth","tag-sheath-growth","tag-shed"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/pronghorn-up-close-mia-mcpherson-5860.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-1H9","jetpack_sharing_enabled":false,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":34079,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/12\/10\/horn-sheath-growth-in-pronghorns\/","url_meta":{"origin":6519,"position":0},"title":"Horn Sheath Growth In Pronghorns","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 10, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Pronghorns' unique horns shed the sheath yearly, making their horn sheath growth an interesting subject as they are the only ungulate with this characteristic.","rel":"","context":"In "Antelope Island State Park"","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Pronghorn buck during horn sheath growth, Antelope Island State Park in Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/pronghorn-buck-mia-mcpherson-5654.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/pronghorn-buck-mia-mcpherson-5654.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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Photos","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"September 7, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Pronghorns are North America's fastest mammal, they can attain speeds of more than 40 miles per hour, with spurts to 70 mph and can out run almost all of their predators.","rel":"","context":"In "Antelope Island State Park"","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Circle of Pronghorn does, Madison County, Montana","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/pronghorn-antelope-does-circle-mia-mcpherson-3270.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/pronghorn-antelope-does-circle-mia-mcpherson-3270.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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Now I can.","rel":"","context":"In "Antelope Island State Park"","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Head on portrait of a Pronghorn buck, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/pronghorn-buck-portrait-headon-mia-mcpherson-3857.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/pronghorn-buck-portrait-headon-mia-mcpherson-3857.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/pronghorn-buck-portrait-headon-mia-mcpherson-3857.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 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