![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/pronghorn-4883-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"pronghorn-4883-ron-dudley\\"")
<\/p>\nDang these guys are tiny.<\/p>\n
On my first morning at Red Rock Lakes NWR last week as I was driving slowly on a narrow dirt road (not much more than a dirt track) I suddenly heard an incredibly loud bleating sound through my open window just out the driver’s side of my pickup. I immediately knew it was a newborn or very young pronghorn and I was terrified I’d run over it on the road because I’ve seen that happen before. A few years ago at the same refuge I came across a refuge biologist only seconds after he had run over and killed a newborn pronghorn that he hadn’t seen lying in the middle of the road. He was almost in tears over the incident.<\/p>\n
They’re extremely small at that age and instinct tells them not to move while they’re trying to hide so they’re very difficult to see, especially in early morning or poor light. And I definitely had poor light on that morning (which will be obvious in my photos below) so I was extremely apprehensive that I’d find a badly injured baby pronghorn on the road as I backed up to find the source of the bleating. If I had I wouldn’t be able to sleep for a week.<\/p>\n
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1\/1000, f\/5.6, ISO 1000, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n But the little guy was just fine, though he was as scared as I had been but for different reasons. He was too tight in the frame but I knew I didn’t have time to switch lenses so I fired away and did the best I could in the poor light with my big lens.<\/p>\n He just stood there next to the road for a few seconds as he tried to figure out what that big metal thing was that had disturbed his peaceful rest in the grass. But when he decided it was best that he got the hell away from it he…<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/1600, f\/5.6, ISO 1000, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n really turned on the afterburners. Believe me, these little fellers are fast, even at this tender age.<\/p>\n I like his tongue stuck out in determination to get away.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/1600, f\/5.6, ISO 1000, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n He found a nearby adult to seek security with but I don’t think it was his mother because he soon went wandering and then hid in the grass again. When I looked behind me I could see three more does racing our way and one of them was apparently his mama.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/1600, f\/5.6, ISO 1000, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n When they got there she sniffed him repeatedly to make sure he was ok as her companions warily kept their eyes on me.<\/p>\n At that point I knew that I hadn’t caused mayhem to the youngster so I left the area. I’d already disturbed them more than I ever want to.<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Dang these guys are tiny.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/pronghorn-4888-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"pronghorn-4888-ron-dudley\\"")
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<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/pronghorn-4903-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"pronghorn-4903-ron-dudley\\"")
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