SKINNER — THE PRONG-HORN 
97 
from the tridentata sage quite freely, even when forage is plentiful. 
Their hours for feeding are irregular, but when they are feeding, prong- 
horns crop their food for about an hour, then lie down and “chew the 
cud’’ for thirty to forty minutes before resuming grazing. I have 
never seen antelopes paw away the snow, as do deer and elk, nor have 
I ever found any spots so uncovered by them. The ones I have 
watched preferred to hunt a bare spot, or selected a thinly covered 
space where they could push the snow aside with their noses. Prong- 
horns are dainty eaters, picking out only the cleanest and best of the 
grasses; and avoid all stretches already grazed by domestic animals, 
especially sheep. When forage is good, they become fat and strong, 
and the kids develop much faster than during lean years. I believe, 
too, that horn growth is stronger and better after a good summer and 
autumn season. Prong-horns are fond of “soda licks,” and at times 
take some of the salt put out for the buffaloes; in winter they often 
eat snow in preference to hunting up the scarcer open water. When 
they do seek water, they are as apt to do so at noon as at any other 
time of the day. 
It is rather difficult to be positive on such a point, but all my notes 
seem to show that prong-horns are quieter during the night and not 
given to moving about nor eating so much as in daytime. Certainly 
they are less nocturnal than deer and elk. Quite often they spend the 
nights on hills and elevations, and move down to the valleys to feed in 
the morning. 
The rutting season is in September and October, at which time 
antelopes are found in pairs and small groups of three, four, and five, 
but I see no evidence of the “harem” habit of the elk, where the male 
gathers together as many of the other sex as he can. Courtship seems 
to consist largely in swift running matches wherein the doe runs away 
from the buck, or suffers herself to be caught, as she sees fit; for she 
evidently is the speedier of the two. I am inclined to rate this animal 
very high on the score of family associations. It is true that prong- 
horns combine in large bands during the winter months for mutual 
protection, but about the first of February they disband into couples 
and small groups. All through the spring and summer I find couples 
and small family parties, with the bucks living peaceably with their 
wives and families. At times the buck on a knoll often mounts guard 
over them to prevent surprise while they feed quietly below. But it 
often happens that two rival bucks are found fighting during the 
mating season, and I have seen a small buck driven out of a small 
JOUENAL OF MAMMALOGY, VOL. 3, NO. 2 
