Fotod Internetist: harksarvikud

Pauli foto: meie punased toolid teisel pool kanjonit ja harksarviku valge tagumik

Sama pilt, zoomimata

Pauli foto, harksarvikud

Harksarvikud, zoomimata 

HARKSARVIK-ANTILOOBID! Justkui me majaümbruse loomaaed veel piisavalt liigirikas poleks. Nüüd on siis harksarvikud ka platsis. Loomariigis muide jooksukiiruselt vingel teisel kohal, kohe gepardi järel.
Eile nägime kahte, täna üksikut isendit otse meie koduõuel (loe: me terrassi ees laiuvatel Rahvuslikel Rohumaadel, teisel pool kanjonit). Häid pilte ma ei saanud, Paulil õnnestus vaid väheke paremini, sestap lisan mõned võtted Internetist, kus harksarvikute kena karvamuster paremini näha. Nad pole ida-Oregoni asustamata rohualadel üldsegi haruldased, küll aga siin meie ümbruses, üpris linnastunud kandis. Allpool inglisekeelses tekstis on veel huvitavaid fakte.

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PRONGHORN ANTELOPES  in our front yard, right on the other side of the canyon.
/.../ The pronghorn is the second fastest land mammal in the world, after the cheetah. It can attain speeds of over 53 miles (86 kilometers) per hour. They have enlarged hearts, lungs and windpipes to utilize the enormous amounts of oxygen they require during sprints. Pronghorns combine their incredible speed with eyesight that would make an eagle proud. They can see, and quickly react to, movement as much as three miles away.
Pronghorns mate each fall in the dry, open lands of western North America. Bucks gather harems of females and protect them jealously—sometimes battling rivals in spectacular and dangerous fights. In the spring, females give birth to one or two young, which can outrun a human after just a few days.
Early settlers almost eliminated pronghorns from their native range in eastern Oregon. Hunting was prohibited in the early 1900s and the season remained closed for 25 years. Current populations are healthy and are managed through a limited quota hunting season./.../
Dec09/2015