Pronghorn eyesight

[EdP]

My experience hunting pronghorn this year got me thinking about their eyesight. I encountered animals from 75 yds to probably close to a mile away. Their legendary sight showed them watching me from beyond where I could see them at all without my 10x binos. It was my encounters at 75 - 125 yds that got me thinking because I could clearly see they were pronghorns but they seemed unable to identify what I was. This turned out well for me but less so for a pronghorn buck. So, are they perhaps farsighted and can not focus at the closer distances? Have any others made similar observations or have theories on why this might be with pronghorn?

Note: I don't know how pronghorn eyes work. Human eyes deal with different distances by changing the shape of the lens in the eye (at least until we get old and the lens stiffens). Horse eyes don't change lens shape but horses can focus at different distances by looking through different parts of the eye.

 

[butcherboy]

As far as I know they have excellent sight both near and far. Maybe they were curious when you were closer and just couldn’t figure you out? They can also see sideways and behind as well. Not entirely behind themselves but close.

 

[tsiewert]

Interesting thought.

 

[danhuntingmi]

They see humans all the time and have to decide if you're a threat or not. If you're not standing on two legs or sitting in a vehicle they also probably don't know for sure what you are.

 

[MarlinMark]

My experience (3 hunts in OR) is that antelope are nuttier than squirrel shit. They will run as fast as they can in a straight line then do a half circle and walk right back into rifle range. They will stare at you and then run towards you at a 45 degree angle while looking at you. They are fun to hunt but very odd. 3 of the best hunts I've been on. And the most entertaining.

 

[kcm2]

FYI, this is pronghorn vision at its finest

 

[danhuntingmi]

View attachment 1088227
FYI, this is pronghorn vision at its finestView attachment 1088227

Exactly. Like most prey animals their eyes serve multiple purposes than identifying a fixed object but rather seeing threats from the largest range of directions. Also, like any animal, they become acclimated to humans and other objects in their environment and how they are used to seeing them.

Even humans with binoculars will stare at every odd colored rock and bush and wonder if it's an animal and half the time look past an actual animal. Probably those animals are hiding behind a bush giggling like 'geez, I thought those humans had good binoculars.'

 

[NRA4LIFE]

I think they can see you blink from a mile away.

 

[chicoredneck]

They have amazing eyesight. They are also very curious creatures. I’ve had some interesting encounters with pronghorn. I’ve had them run up to me on multiple occasions to check me out. I had one buck follow me for several hundred yards one year. He kept his distance at about 100 yards.

 

[HiMtnHntr]

I have hunted antelope 3 decades and seen them do some pretty amazing, weird, and seemingly dumb things. After considering all that, on the whole their eyesight is an incredible tool that will continue to embarrass many a hunter. It’s their curiosity and lack of threat detection that gets them killed a lot… not their eyes….

 

[RockAndSage]

A lot of what's going on is extreme visual sensitivity to picking up movement. Mule deer are the same but to a lesser degree - you need to move about 1/4 the speed you normally would, or slower, to not trigger their visual attention.