Kid Territory: Critters: A Pronghorn's Odyssey

Zoo name: Sonseeahray (or Sonni)
Species: pronghorn
Location: San Diego Zoo

The journey begins...

Quick—name the fastest land animal! “Cheetah” is the critter that pops into your mind, right? Next question: Fastest here in North America? Hmmm…faster than a jackrabbit, faster than a roadrunner, faster than a sidewinder—AND almost as fast as a cheetah—is a unique hoofed animal, the pronghorn. So which of these mammals would win in a race? Cheetahs, those fast African felines, zoom to over 60 miles an hour in just a few strides and seconds—BUT the cats only sprint for about a quarter of a mile. Pronghorns are long-distance runners that travel at nearly 60 miles per hour—AND keep up the pace for over 4 miles! So, how might you catch a glimpse of the amazing pronghorn? You don’t have to head out to the plains of Wyoming or South Dakota: just visit the San Diego Zoo and look for Sonni, our pronghorn.

A happy odyssey

An odyssey is a long tale of adventure, and Sonni’s tale is a “happy ending” story in every way. Back in 2006, government wildlife officials discovered the baby pronghorn in the back seat of a car, which is, of course, illegal. Officials took the infant, contacted the San Diego Zoo, and we adopted the young pronghorn and raised her as an animal ambassador for her species.

Sonni (pronounced Sunny) is short for Sonseeahray (pronounced Sun-SEE-ah-ray), Apache for “morning star.” Sonni began her Zoo experience at the Hunte Amphitheater, one of our show areas. The trainers bottle-fed Sonni and taught her to wear a halter and feel very comfortable around people and other animals. (Read a blog post about Sonni's early days.)

As Sonni grew older, the animal trainers realized that the flighty pronghorn needed a new home. Sonni still allowed the halter, but once she was weaned and didn’t have a bottle to follow, she would freeze rather than walk with a trainer. Pronghorns are built for life on the open range, with excellent eyesight and hearing, and sometimes Sonni got startled by sights or sounds that the other show animals didn’t even notice. The trainers loved Sonni and realized that she needed a more spacious home within the Zoo.

Visit THE Odyssey

Our newest exhibit, Elephant Odyssey, awaited. This area tells the tale of animals and plants that lived in Southern California over 12,000 years ago, and it features some of their modern descendents. Sonni was a perfect fit, because pronghorns survived the mass extinctions that occurred during that time period. Sonni is doing really well in Elephant Odyssey in a large, multispecies enclosure. She follows the keepers around and pesters them while they rake: she butts the rakes and wheelbarrows and sometimes even the keepers to get attention!

Sonni gets along fine with her dromedary camel corral-mates (zookeepers say the camels act like a couple of overexcited dogs!). We also added other pronghorns to the area, but it’s pretty easy to spot Sonni: she’s shorter and lighter in color, with smaller horns than the other pronghorns. Sonni often sits peacefully in the center, watching her new world and representing pronghorns past and present. A happy odyssey ending, indeed!

More

San Diego Zoo: Elephant Odyssey, Animal Shows
Animal Bytes: Pronghorn, Cheetah, Camel
Job Profiles: Animal Trainer, Zookeeper