Prairie State Park in Liberal, MO is a 3,700-acre spread of southwest Missouri land where a lost heritage is recaptured and a rare ecosystem preserved. Open year-round.

The famous and often controversial Yellowstone bison herds are changing the ecosystem around them as they move steadily to the west, according to Mary Meagher, a retired National Park Service biologist who has studied the bison for 40 years.

To survive, antelopes rely on their ability to spot danger and to make a rapid escape. This defense system enables them to evade most wildlife predators, but it offers only partial protection from human hunters interested in antelope hide, horn, or meat, and no protection at all from changes to their habitat.

Compared to some mammals, such as carnivores (meat-eaters) and primates (apes, monkeys, and humans), antelopes are not noted for high intelligence.