Where The Antelope Roam

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

July 30, 1998 / 4:22 PM EDT / CBS

The heat wave and drought of the summer of '98 have taken an immeasurable toll on farmer, crops, and anyone who has had to contend with 100-degree temperatures. But it has also had a devastating effect on wildlife, especially the majestic pronghorn antelope of west Texas.

The western most part of the lone star state, also known as the Trans-Pecos region, has experienced drought conditions for the last six years. This year, however, has been the worst. In 1992 there were an estimated 15,000 antelope across this region. Today, only 5,000 pronghorns are left to graze the desert plains.

To find the animals CBS News Correspondent Jim Axelrod and Producer Alice Maggin went looking in unusual places: outside a sewage treatment plant, where the run-off fertilizes the grass around it; on manicured lawns; and on the grounds of Sul Ross State College in Alpine. Because they have to come so close to humans for food, Maggin was able to get within 100 feet of a group of antelope grazing on the golf course in Marfa.

The pronghorn antelope have been roaming these plains long before we discovered its beauty. They have survived heat and drought before and hopefully will survive now as well. The landscape would not be the same without their galloping herds.

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