No Antelope Left Behind

One of the joys of living where we do is the abundance of wildlife. No squirrels, alas, because we have so few trees (and no squirrel-worthy trees), but magpies, hummingbirds, ground squirrels (do they count as “squirrel”?), the occasional deer, coyotes (we have a six foot fence around our property so no fear of them coming up to the house), porcupines (oh, yeah, THEY’RE fun, especially when your dog and horse think they should be touched), and prong-horned antelope.

You know - where the deer and the antelope play…🎶 - yep, that’s our place.

The last couple of days we’ve seen a lone antelope in our hay field. Apparently it was a scout, because this morning there was a herd of 15 in the field. What a treat!

What the herd would look like if I wasn’t a quarter mile away

Of course, like any large group of beings, there’s always a laggard or two. Most of the herd was at our place. At least two were in the field just east of us, and the fence between our property and that one is mesh and about 4-1/2 feet tall. This is not an easy barrier for a non-jumping good sized animal to get through - which is the whole idea, since a herd of cattle live next door. 

Now, we have seen at least one antelope jump over the fence at the back of our property, but that fence is lower and made up of individual strands, so it can easily be slithered through. That’s what they generally do, and we were surprised to see a jumper - he or she must have been feeling springy that day.

Anyway, one of the laggards must have found the entrance at the back of our field, and joined the herd, because when we looked again, there was only one in the pasture to the east of us. 

Part of the actual herd, with Carl(a) on the other side of the fence

The herd had come up fairly close to the barn, and Carl (or Carla), the laggard, was running around not making much progress in getting past the barrier. Humans aren’t the only ones whose brain cells can stop functioning in a crisis.

What was interesting to me was that the rest of herd slowly made their way back north, and a few of the members came right over to the offending fence, pointing hooves toward the north corner and encouraging Carl(a) to “go thataway.” Those members hung by the fence as the herd drifted north, offering support. Occasionally they would check in with the herd, but then once again took up a position on the opposite side of the fence from their laggard friend.

Eventually, the herd slipped through the fence on the north end of our property and Carl(a) joined back up.

The herd never gave up on their pal, and using herd rules (stick together because we are prey and who knows what’s out there?), they solved the problem. They teach us things every day. The importance of community. And the importance of never leaving anyone behind. Even laggards. Eventually, we all come together.