On my recent camping trip to Montana’s Centennial valley, I had a first for me – pronghorn triplets.
According to Wyoming Game and Fish Department (and several other sources I checked), pronghorn triplets are a “rare” occurrence. Usually, “pronghorn produce single fawns in their first round of reproduction and twins after that. But triplets occur in only about 1 of every 200 pregnancies.”
All photos below are presented in the order they were taken.
I found them in late afternoon near Red Rock Lakes NWR’s Lower Red Rock Lake. They were slightly older and a little larger than many of the other pronghorn fawns I’d been seeing.
At first they were lying down and hidden in the tall grass but my approaching pickup made them a little nervous so they got up and…
looked toward mama who was perhaps 200 yards out of frame at upper left. All three erected and flashed their white rump patch in alarm.
But collectively they couldn’t decide what to do – run toward mama or lie back down in the grass and hide. It was almost like they took turns lying down, and then getting back up. Here the one in the middle had just lied down, so of course it…
flattened its white rump patch so it wasn’t quite so obvious.
But then that little guy got back up and…
one or both of its siblings lied down. This happened repeatedly but I missed getting some of the photos (and this one isn’t very sharp) because I was distracted by…
an adult pronghorn that came racing in from my right. This isn’t mama – she’s still out of frame at upper left. I don’t know what spooked this doe, but she was in a big hurry to get somewhere.
Eventually, perhaps on some unseen (by me) signal from mama, all three siblings…
layed back down in the grass, with only their heads sticking up. One has its eyes glued on mama and the other two are watching me.
After a while they felt safe enough to get up and race toward their mother.
And here’s mama, with a small part of Lower Red Rock Lake in the background. While I was there the fawns never did get quite close enough to their mother for me to get all four of them in the frame.
I wish I’d been able to get better photos to document all this but the afternoon light was harsh and quite a few of my photos were soft because my active focus point kept grabbing onto tall grasses in front of the pronghorn.
But to see and photograph pronghorn triplets was a special treat.
Ron
Late in the day to be seeing this (too much time spent researching new tires for my car before a trip to Idaho) — but what a joy to see this trio of pronghorn youngsters! Your pics are really sweet (especially like those cute faces poking up out of the grass). Pronghorn were always one of my favorite things about living in Laramie, especially on weekend bike rides out to the town of Centennial — lots of those white butts going out and coming back!
“too much time spent researching new tires for my car before a trip to Idaho”
Chris, that was me before buying new tires for my trailer before the Montana camping trip. It’s a big decision.
Big and EXPENSIVE as you well know. 😩
Good story – and great photography ! The little ones are cute – and since triplets are so rare – you can congratulate yourself. Maybe you will get some recognition for these photos if you send them to the right place. Good job!!
Thank you, Judy.
Those white rumps are really something. My first thought was like Michael’s – it sure would draw attention from a predator. But maybe it draws attention to the rear where rear feet could kick in defense, vs less obvious head where jugular would be easy target? Do you know what the attack pattern is for their predators?
They are beautiful. And you capture so well the indecision. You can almost see mom waving her arms – “sit down, sit down!!!”
” Do you know what the attack pattern is for their predators?”
I’m unaware of a scripted or set attack pattern on pronghorn, Carolyn.
Wow Ron, maybe not camera perfect as you say, but what a remarkably beautiful and educational series. Never saw a Pronghorn till we moved to AZ, but now really appreciate them. Love them all but my favorites are #5 and the 3 heads up. Exceptional series. So glad you got to see and photograph them.
Thanks, Everett. The only place I’ve ever lived that didn’t have pronghorn was San Diego County. We even had the occasional pronghorn on our MT farm.
A triplet treat, for sure! Hope they were all able to settle after a while. I’m glad they still see people as threats though, because not everyone has only photographic intentions and your level of integrity.
Thanks for sharing these shots (I see no flaws in them whatsoever, Mr. Nitpicker 😂). Looking forward to the next gems from your trip! 😃
“I see no flaws in them whatsoever, Mr. Nitpicker”
Marty, for starters how about no catch lights in the eyes? The sun was too high in the sky for that.
But I won’t complain very much. Getting photos of triplets, catch lights or not, was pretty special.
Didn’t even notice the eyes over those bright white tushes. 😂 The youngsters are too adorable!❤️
Easy to miss.
What a wonderful series and made even more interesting by your ‘narration’. It must have been a treat to photograph these little ones! Thanks, Ron.
Thanks, Kathryn. A treat it was.
You brought a lot back from that trip. Thanks for sharing yet another special encounter.
Curious about how they “flashed their white rump patch in alarm”. One would think that the negatives of this behavior (drawing the attention of a predator) would outweigh the positive of herd communication. Must be working for them though.
“Must be working for them though.”
That’s what it boils down to, Michael. If it wasn’t working for them, the behavior (and the glaringly-white rump patch) would be selected against.
Thank you. I miss the pronghorns… I miss Colorado and Wyoming where I always saw them.
I don’t blame you, Nina. I’d miss them too.
A special treat for us, your readers, too ! I had only ever seen
pronghorns from a great distance, and never knew that they could erect those white rump patches–“fan their fannies” so to speak….
what beautiful, graceful creatures they are……thanks for sharing
your unusual experience……..
“fan their fannies”
I’m gonna steal that, Kris.
Neat! I’ve never seen triplets tho I do see an occasional set of twins. Mama certainly has her “hands” full with that! I was wondering how many teats they have to accommodate that. Guessing they may have come a little early given the number and bulk of those.
Break from the heat with a “cool” 44 for sleeping last night. 🙂
“Guessing they may have come a little early given the number and bulk of those.”
Good point, Judy. I’ll bet you’re right.
I believe that doe pronghorn have 4 teats.