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Similar to giraffes, skin covers the bony cores, but in the pronghorn, it develops into a keratinous sheath which is shed and regrown annually. In early spring, the herds break up, with young males forming bachelor groups, females forming harems, and adult males living solitarily. Pronghorns form mixed-sex herds in the winter. Cougars, wolves, coyotes, and bobcats are major predators of pronghorns. It can run at speeds of fifty miles an hour. The pronghorn is the fastest land mammal in the Western Hemisphere, being built for maximum predator evasion through running. The females are the same height as males, but weigh 34–48 kg (75–106 lb).

Adult males are 1.3–1.5 m (4 ft 3 in–4 ft 11 in) long from nose to tail, stand 81–104 cm (32–41 in) high at the shoulder and weigh 40–65 kg (88–143 lb). Pronghorns have distinct white fur on their rumps, sides, breasts, bellies, and across their throats. It is the only surviving member of the family Antilocapridae. Though not scientifically accurate, it is often colloquially referred to as an antelope because it closely resembles the true antelopes of Africa and fills a similar ecological niche due to parallel evolution. It inhabits prairies, grasslands, desert scrubland and sagebrush steppe. The pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) is a species of artiodactyl (even-toed, hoofed) mammal indigenous to interior western and central North America.