Pronghorn Death

Their natural range extended from southern Canada to northern Mexico. Pronghorn dies after plummeting off cliff.

I saw this gruesome picture of a doe pronghorn lying dead with its neck horribly twisted at the base of a cliff and wondered what could have possibly happened. You don't think of hey surefooted animal like that accidentally falling off an almost vertical rock wall so I reached out to Fish and Game official Bryan Pearson.

A doe pronghorn plunged to her death Tuesday afternoon after running full speed off the cliffs of Hammer Flat, narrowly missing a group of rock climbers staging below.

The collared doe, #19938, was part of a newly-launched pronghorn project designed to learn more about the seasonal movements of pronghorn in the area. Collared in March of 2019, she had already provided F&G staff with some valuable movement information.

The climbers reported hearing a "whistling sound" and were startled to look up and see the doe hurtling toward them. The doe landed within 10 feet of the climbers, and more than 20 feet from the base of the cliff, suffering a broken neck and numerous internal injuries.