No So Fast

....where the deer and the antelope play..."

 

People will tell you all the time that the cheetah is the fastest animal on earth.  Only sort of.  The cheetah can haul 'bum' in a really short sprint.  So maybe in a context we can relate to, it likely holds the record in the 'hundred meters.' 

 

 

But the real track star is the good old American pronghorned prairie antelope.  From 200 meters right through a marathon the ANTELOPE RULES.  Why bother to bring it up?

That's just one of those things you learn doing news stories that one of my former students calls "Paul's Huge List of Useless Information." 

 

 

Just for the record no information is useless. And to actually be in a situation to see a herd of them up close and personal (via helicopter) RUN,  and move as a single unit just takes my breath away thinking about it.

An odd thing occurred while painting this guy.  When I got to his right front leg, from the knee down to his hoof it looked like everything was backwards, so I painted it that way.  Then I said maybe I ought to check.

You know at the time I thought that guy let me get awfully close to him?  I checked about 100 other shots I have of antelope?  Sure enough this guy had a dislocated and probably broken leg that had his hoof pointed in the opposite direction.   I still wouldn't have wanted to race him.

 

It was just too painful to leave it that way, so I healed (heeled him maybe?) by straightening his leg out.

Don't know if it's still true, but I'm pretty sure there are still more antelope in Wyoming than people, and Montana may have a similar distinction.  Just some more useFUL information for you.

Got to run!