First pronghorn highway overpass in Wyoming opens
Until recently, the population of pronghorn — a small antelope-like mammal endemic to North America — outnumbered people in its native Wyoming. The Cowboy State may be the nation’s least populous, but the two groups still manage to come into conflict. Pronghorns numbering in the tens of thousands cross Highway 191 each year during their annual migration, and collisions between animals and cars are costly for all involved.
Now conservationists are celebrating the apparent success of an experiment involving a series of new wildlife overpasses that allow the pronghorns to cross to safety while freeing up the roads.