Newborn Pronghorn fawn, Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, Centennial Valley, Beaverhead County, MontanaNewborn Pronghorn Fawn Blur – Nikon D200, f7.1, 1/15, ISO 640, Nikkor 18-200mm VR at 200mm, natural light

Seeing this newborn Pronghorn fawn is one of those experiences that I will never forget. I already think that Pronghorn young are the cutest furry baby mammals on the planet. This little one still had the umbilical cord dangling from its belly and it was still very wobbly on those long thin legs.

The fawn was hidden in grasses along side a road on the refuge and hopped up when we passed by, I’m sure the vehicle startled it.

There was very little light, the sky was hugely overcast and the fawn didn’t stay still long. We took just a few shots and left so the fawn could find its mother who was nowhere in sight.

I wish just a tiny ray of the sun had found its way through the clouds to shine on this little beauty. I had bumped my ISO as much as I dared with my D200 and still could only get a 15th of a second in shutter speed.

At first I was very disappointed in my photos of the Pronghorn but I found two where at least the face and eyes were in focus even though the rest of the fawn was not.  This was not an intentional blur but the more I look at it the more I like it because the eyes and head are in focus. I’m not surprised the legs are a blur because the fawn was wobbling on them and the legs never seemed to stop moving.

Yes,  a sliver of light would have been marvelous but I can see it all sharply in my memories of a chance encounter with this newborn.

Life is good.

Mia

Click here to see more of my Pronghorn photos plus facts and information about this species.