5 CHAPTER ONE Red-tailed hawks circle over grasslands looking for movement on the ground A mouse hurries through dry stalks of grass It is looking for its favorite seeds A hawk coasts overhead looking for its favorite meal the mouse The hawk dives to the ground It snatches the mouse in its claws and flies away The hawk carries the mouse to its hungry chicks Thousands of miles away a lightning bolt hits dry grass Flames shoot across the countryside Gazelles WHAT IS A GRASSLAND
And the Winner Is Australia is the country with the biggest percentage of land covered with grasslands Approximately 70 percent of Australia is grasslands Forty-two percent of China is covered with grasslands Grasslands cover 37 percent of Russia 36 percent of the United States and 32 percent of Canada 6 hedgehogs and cranes scurry or fly to safety Underground grass roots are not harmed They will spring new growth when rain comes Around the World Grasslands exist on every continent except Antarctica This ecosystem covers approximately 40 percent of Earth’s land surface All of the grasslands in the world have one thing in common grass is their most common plant Grasslands are known by different names around the world In North America most grasslands are called Great Plains In Africa they are known as savannas or velds Most grasslands in Eastern Europe and Asia are called steppes Grasslands in South America are
7 called pampas llanos or cerrados Most Australian grasslands are known as shrublands Grasslands are diverse ecosystems This means they contain many different kinds of plants and animals Some of the biggest animals on the planet live in grasslands Grasslands contain hundreds of types of grasses and other plants such as wildflowers A healthy grassland ecosystem contains a delicate Grasslands of the World This map shows grasslands across the world Sometimes a picture is easier to understand than reading words In two sentences explain if looking at this map or reading the text of Chapter One helps you better understand where grasslands are located Pacific Ocean Atlantic Ocean Great Plains of North America South American Pampas African Savannas Asian Steppes Australian Shrublands Indian Ocean Pacific Ocean Arctic Ocean Grassland
