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In the spring, the prairie comes alive with energy and excitement as animals compete.
Across the plains, male prairie chickens meet on booming grounds called leks, to catch the attention of the females called hens.
They stomp around and puff themselves up making a booming sound.
There's not as many prairie chickens in Missouri today, but many have felt the beat of prairie chicken feet for hundreds of years.
Plains Indians imitated these displays in their ceremonial dances.
The origin of the Prairie Chicken Dance is a young man was out hunting one morning and it was foggy--he went up on a hill to wait out the fog.
He fell asleep and while he was sleeping he had a dream where he woke up and the prairie chickens were dancing around him.
And he talked to them. They showed him how to do their dance.
When he woke up, he returned home and he shared the dance with their tribe.
Year after year, prairie chickens returned to these traditional grounds.
The booming sound is created by forcing air through the orange throat sac and can be heard a mile away on a still day.
Males get more active toward April, the peak of the season.
Hens seem to ignore all the racket made for them, and usually visit two or three different booming grounds before picking a mate.