SAVING WILDLIFE Grassland Animals a 100 OD O O R a Sy a DS RS by Sonya Newland Smart Apple Media
Grassland Habitats Around a quarter of our planet s land is grassland These are large areas that receive just enough rainfall for grasses to grow but not enough for a lot of trees and other plants to thrive Where Are Grasslands Grasslands usually lie between deserts and mountains There are two main types of grasslands Tropical grasslands lie close to the equator and include the African savanna Temperate grasslands such as the North American prairies and the pampas of South America are cooler and farther from the equator Steppe is the coldest but driest type of temperate grassland found in countries such as Russia China and Mongolia V Giraffes live on the African savanna and eat the leaves of the acacia trees that North At erica Bison page 14 grow there AD R EXTREME ANIMALS South America E The giraffe of the African RP savanna has the longest neck of any creature growing up A to 5 9 feet 1 8 m SE Maned wolf page
Animals in the Grass It might seem as though there is not much life in these huge expanses of land but among the tall grasses large and small creatures exist in a complex web of life The grasses provide food for grazing animals such as antelope and zebras In turn these grazing animals are food for predators such as big cats and wild dogs Other creatures keep the habitat healthy for themselves and other animals Burrowing animals such as prairie dogs create tunnels that allow air into the soil Waste from larger animals provides nutrients that keep the soil healthy Many animals are now endangered though and this is threatening the balance of the grassland ecosystem Tropical grassland V This map shows the world's grassland areas Among the largest are the savannas of Africa Temperate grassland Numbat page 19 Asia Europe Africa Tropic of Cancer Equator Tropic of Capricorn Australia Black rhino page 9 Lion page
