The National Wildlife Federation congratulates the Team USA athletes who have run, swam, leapt, thrown, and biked their way to victory so far at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. But we feel that Team USA has been negligent of another potential source of gold-medal winners… our North American wildlife! Below, we make the case for adding some of our beloved wildlife to Team USA — and the events we’re confident they’d dominate.
#1 Pronghorn: the West’s track stars
Pronghorn are the ultimate track double threat: In addition to clocking in as the fastest land animal in North America at upper speeds of 60 miles per hour, they also have the longest land migration route in the continental US. (In fact, pronghorn are the second-fastest land mammal in the world — only cheetahs can reach higher speeds than them!) Whether the 100-meter sprint or 10,000-meter run, pronghorn would leave their competitors in the dust.
Unfortunately, habitat loss is threatening the pronghorn’s training grounds — impenetrable fences and roads are making the 150-mile migration route that one population of pronghorn follows really difficult. That’s why we need to create and enhance wildlife corridors so our pronghorn can keep doing what they do best: sprinting away from potential predators.
Six Wildlife Species That’d Win Olympic Gold • The National Wildlife Federation Blog
#1 Pronghorn: the West’s track stars
Pronghorn are the ultimate track double threat: In addition to clocking in as the fastest land animal in North America at upper speeds of 60 miles per hour, they also have the longest land migration route in the continental US. (In fact, pronghorn are the second-fastest land mammal in the world — only cheetahs can reach higher speeds than them!) Whether the 100-meter sprint or 10,000-meter run, pronghorn would leave their competitors in the dust.
Unfortunately, habitat loss is threatening the pronghorn’s training grounds — impenetrable fences and roads are making the 150-mile migration route that one population of pronghorn follows really difficult. That’s why we need to create and enhance wildlife corridors so our pronghorn can keep doing what they do best: sprinting away from potential predators.
Six Wildlife Species That’d Win Olympic Gold • The National Wildlife Federation Blog