Let the Antelope Roam

Of all the species living in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem of northwest Wyoming, the pronghorn is the only one native to the American West — elk, bison and even grizzly bears moved in from Asia centuries ago — but it is by no means the least exotic.

The deerlike creatures (often called American antelope, though they are not related to Old World antelope) are the fastest distance runners in the Western Hemisphere, capable of traveling 50 miles an hour. Twice a year for 6,000 years, one population of pronghorn has used that speed to travel more than 90 miles from their summer range in Grand Teton National Park to the Upper Green River basin, where they spend the winter.

By JOEL BERGER and KIM MURRAY BERGER

Full Story: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/09/opinion/09berger.html?_r=1&oref=slogin