Running energetics in the pronghorn antelope

Abstract

THE pronghorn antelope (Antilocapra americana) has an alleged top speed of 100 km h⁻¹, second only to the cheetah (Acionyx jubatus) among land vertebrates¹, a possible response to predation in the exposed habitat of the North American prairie². Unlike cheetahs, however, pronghorn antelope are distance runners rather than sprinters, and can run 11 km in 10 min, an average speed of 65 km h⁻¹ (ref. 1). We measured maximum oxygen uptake in pronghorn antelope to distinguish between two potential explanations for this ability: either they have evolved a uniquely high muscular efficiency (low cost of transport) or they can supply oxygen to the muscles at unusually high levels. Because the cost of transport (energy per unit distance covered per unit body mass) varies as a predictable function of body mass among terrestrial vertebrates, we can calculate the predicted cost to maintain speeds of 65 and 100 km h^–1 in an average 32-kg animal³. The resulting range of predicted values, 3.2-5.1 ml O₂ kg^–1 s⁻¹, far surpasses the predicted maximum aerobic capacity4 of a 32-kg mammal (1.5 ml O₂ kg⁻¹s⁻¹). We conclude that their performance is achieved by an extraordinary capacity to consume and process enough oxygen to support a predicted running speed >20 ms⁻¹ (70 km h⁻¹), attained without unique respiratory-system structures.