Pronghorns are North America's fastest land animals, uniquely adapted to open grasslands. Intensifying droughts driven by climate change are threatening their food and water resources across the West.
Pronghorn welfare during drought conditions involves multiple compounding stressors. Food scarcity during dry years forces animals to travel further, expending energy reserves they cannot replace. Dehydration impairs physiological function and increases stress. Pregnant and lactating females face impossible trade-offs between their own nutritional needs and fetal/fawn development. Fawns born in drought years to depleted mothers have lower birth weights and survival rates. Heat stress compounds these effects - pronghorns in open terrain have limited shade access and rely on wind cooling. The welfare impacts of drought are population-wide, simultaneous, and increasingly frequent as climate change alters precipitation patterns across pronghorn range.