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
Grasslands under threat Some of the world's most amazing and majestic animals live in grasslands but many of them are in danger of dying out because of human activity Human Hunters Hunting has long been a threat to grassland animals In Africa big game hunters killed large numbers of animals such as lions elephants and rhinos simply for sport Although hunting is strictly controlled now some creatures are still poached illegally because their meat fur or ivory tusks are valuable Human Settlement More and more grassland areas are being taken over by people so they can live there build roads or farm the land Most prairie land in the United States for example has been turned into farmland This has driven away the large animals that used to roam there freely such as wolves and bison In some countries people are searching for oil in grassland areas This can affect the quality of the soil cause fragmentation and destroy animal habitats These elephant tusks were taken away from poachers in Kenya Africa Today hunting elephants is
ENDANGERED ANIMALS The International Union for Conservation of Nature IUCN see page 28 lists animals according to how endangered they are Extinct Died out completely Extinct in the wild Only survive in captivity Critically endangered Extremely high risk of becoming extinct in the near future Endangered High risk of becoming extinct in the wild Vulnerable High risk of becoming endangered in the wild Near threatened Likely to become endangered in the near future Least concern Lowest risk of becoming endangered WHAT DO YOU THINK The Warming World Climate change is affecting grassland areas too Experts think that changes in the pattern of rainfall may cause vital watering holes to dry up If this happens deserts could gradually spread into grassland areas Grasslands are being taken over to meet human needs What compromises could be made that would reduce the impact on grassland wildlife In the United States as well as in many countries in Europe grassland areas have been taken over for use as farmland At
