Pronghorn Antelope

GYE Timeline

Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem Timeline

1870:

Eyewitness accounts indicate that thousands of pronghorn can be found in the Yellowstone area.

1872 - 1883:

Market hunters and poachers in the GYE kill thousands of pronghorn.

1886 - 1912:

Management herds pronghorn back into the national park to prevent them from being killed.

1887:

The number of pronghorn is reduced to about 200 animals.

1894 - 1903:

The number of reported pronghorn vary between 500 to 1,000 animals.

1908:

Due to feeding, protection, and predator control, the pronghorn population increases to about 2,000 animals.

1917:

Pronghorn numbers drop dramatically due to harsh winters, starvation, and dispersal.

1918 - 1946:

Pronghorn counts and estimations reach about 600 animals as population size slowly increases.

1936 - 1946:

Population size continues to increase slowly as estimations of pronghorn reach about 811 as their distribution is expanded.

1946:

Management decided to reduce the amount of pronghorn to about 400 animals.

1946 - 1967:

Management begins to worry about the over-browsing of sagebrush in the Gardiner Basin and culling the pronghorn to about 200 animals.

1953:

Park managers decide to keep the number of pronghorn to about 100 to 125 animals.

1969 - 1981:

The amount of pronghorn remain to stay low at about 100 to 190 animals.

1982 - 1991:

The pronghorn population has rapidly increased to almost 600 animals.

1995 - 2011:

The amount of pronghorn reach a maximum of over 500 animals. Due to unknown reasons, the population size crashes to only 200 animals.

2013 - 2017:

Population size begins to rapidly increase once more, as the amount of pronghorn reaches about 500 animals.

2020 - 2021:

Biologists count 416 pronghorns in the Yellowstone areas, specifically between Jim Canyon and Mammoth Hot Springs.

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Grizzly Bears