Aaron Berscheid is a district wildlife officer for Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Aaron covers the ìwildî side of Northeast El Paso County, including Black Forest, Falcon, Peyton and Calhan. He also covers some of Elbert County, north of U.S. Highway 24 and south of State Highway 86, including the towns of Elbert, Kiowa, Ramah, Simla, Matheson and a small portion of the Limon area.
Of all the wildlife that live in the Falcon and Black Forest areas, the species I get asked about more than any other is the pronghorn.Undoubtedly, many of you see pronghorn on a daily basis because they live, basically, in your backyards. If you see them in a field sometime, you should stop and watch them run.These amazing creatures are built for speed. In fact, they are the fastest land mammal in the Western Hemisphere. They can run 60 mph, making them the second-fastest land animal on Earth behind the cheetah. And they can sustain their speed for several miles, outdoing the cheetah in endurance.Pronghorns are beautiful, too, with their tan fur highlighted by white rumps, bellies and stripes up their necks and along their faces. The white contrasts with the black streaks down their noses and the flat blade of black bone that makes up the horns of the males.There is a significant herd of pronghorn in the area; and, with a herd this size and the visibility of these animals, I receive multiple calls and emails regarding these animals.†Some calls and emails are from people concerned they are trapped inside fenced fields and asking about relocating the animals. (They are not trapped and often crawl under fences although they could leap them, if they liked.)Unfortunately, I get calls about car wrecks involving pronghorn. (They are fast but canít outrun vehicles at highway speeds.)†And lately Iíve been getting calls about people in vehicles and pets chasing pronghorn. That is illegal harassment of wildlife, and Iíll talk more about that in a minute.First, I want to give some background information on how these animals operate (especially within such a dense human population). Then, Iíll explain CPWís approach to management of these animals. Finally, Iíll give tips on how residents in the area can coexist with these awesome creatures.Pronghorn, often referred to as antelope, have been around on the plains for eons. Here is a little trivia for your next backyard barbecue: Genetic testing has shown pronghorn are more closely related to the giraffe than the antelope.Like most game animals, pronghorn were exploited by market hunters and settlers and had very low numbers around the beginning of the 1900s when settlers were expanding westward.†By the 1920s, pronghorn numbered around 13,000 nationwide, with little to stop the decline. The wildlife conservation group Boone and Crockett Club, in cooperation with multiple other state, federal, and private agencies, began conservation efforts that successfully recovered the pronghorn and their habitat.†Since the 1930s, the U.S. pronghorn population has recovered to a point that they outnumber the people in Wyoming. And they are doing very well in Colorado, in particular in Colorado Springs and its eastern plains area.The biggest threat to any wildlife in todayís world is habitat loss and fragmentation due to human expansion. This is something that is very visible when it comes to the pronghorn around the Woodmen Road area.†I often get questions about what CPW plans to do with the pronghorn as the housing developments continue to expand. There are a lot of nuances to this answer, but to summarize, CPW will not be relocating these animals.†This is not because we donít care about the animals. But because the process of trapping or relocating any pronghorn would endanger public safety more than any benefit it might provide the pronghorn.†As I mentioned earlier, these pronghorn are not trapped. Our biologists have studied this herd for years. Youíd be surprised how far and wide these animals roam. And theyíve adapted to the encroachment of humans with their houses, shopping malls and cars. (With the exception of the occasional wrecks.)Our research has shown that when they no longer feel comfortable in a certain area, pronghorn will simply move on.Now, back to the other source of recent calls: the chasing of pronghorn by people in vehicles or by dogs.As with any wildlife, CPW asks that anyone in Colorado view and interact with wildlife from a distance that does not disturb their activity.†It is illegal in Colorado to harass wildlife. Most of the calls I get are about vehicles and dogs chasing the pronghorn in the area north of Woodmen Road between Powers Boulevard and U.S. Highway 24.†Please do not allow your dogs off leash around pronghorn and do not allow your dogs to chase pronghorn. Anyone caught allowing their dog to chase pronghorn or any other wildlife or harassing the wildlife in a vehicle is subject to a $276 fine (or much more if a pronghorn is harmed).If you see it happening, get a license number of the vehicle, a description of the dog and owner; or, even better, take photos or video. Call the police and they can reach me. CPW wonít tolerate such harassment.In the coming months, Iíll share more of those stories as I write about wildlife issues in our community: Got a question, problem or column idea, please email me at aaron.berscheid@state.co.us or call me at 719-227-5231.†I might even answer your question in a future installment of ìWildlife Matters.î
