The pronghorn, the fastest land mammal in North America which is similar in appearance to the antelope (though its closest living relatives are actually giraffes and okapis), is on the rise — thanks to efforts of conservationists in Yellowstone National Park, the National Parks Conservation Association reported.
Though pronghorn populations declined sharply over the past century, they are now swinging back up, at least in Yellowstone. The Yellowstone Park pronghorn herd hit a low of 190 in 2009 but rebounded to 481 this year.
Explaining the rise in pronghorn numbers, conservationists credit one simple strategy: removing or modifying the livestock fences that were blocking the animals' ability to migrate.
By working with private landowners and public land managers to restore migratory patterns, the NPCA has allowed pronghorns to go where they please, allowing them to interact with other pronghorn herds and ensuring that the Yellowstone herd does not remain genetically isolated.
"We've widened our breadth of work and our thinking about removing barriers on the landscape, both fencing and road barriers, which is helping all wildlife move more easily," said Pat Todd, NPCA's Volgenau Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem Fellow, who led the initiative.
"This work isn't only important for pronghorn, it's important for the other ungulates — sheep, mountain goats, elk, mule deer."
Although it was human-caused problems that resulted in the declining pronghorn populations in the first place, the efforts of the NPCA show that humans also have the capacity to solve the problems that other humans created. Just because a species is threatened or endangered doesn't mean it's time to give up on it — as the efforts of Yellowstone conservationists have shown.
Other recent conservation success stories include the reemergence of the large tortoiseshell butterfly in England, as well as lion cubs being born in South Africa's Zululand for the first time in 150 years.
Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Cool Picks
