Arizona Game and Fish Helps Pronghorn Cross Boundaries

By Vanessa Torres

Arizona -(Ammoland.com)- Like some giant bird of prey, the helicopter appeared from seemingly out of nowhere and swooped down on the unsuspecting herd of pronghorn feeding on the open grassland below.

The chase was on.

In the end, despite being able to reach speeds up to 60 mph, the fastest animal in North America was no match. The net-gunner’s aim was true, the handler or “mugger” placed a GPS collar around the pronghorn’s neck, and within moments the animal was safely removed from the net and turned loose to rejoin its herd.

It was a scene that was repeated several times over the course of two days earlier this month, just off Highway 89 about 30 miles north of Flagstaff near Wupatki National Monument. In between winter storms that hit the area 48 hours apart, the Arizona Game and Fish Department and an army of volunteers was able to capture and collar 23 pronghorn in an ongoing effort to track their movements and improve connectivity between herds.

One of Arizona’s 10 big-game species, pronghorn prefer wide-open spaces where they can …Read the Rest

Source:: AmmoLand