Tropical Savanna Grassland

Location!
Tropical grasslands are located near the
equator, between the Tropic of Cancer and the
Tropic of Capricorn. They cover much of Africa
as well as large areas of Australia, South
America, and India.

Tropical grasslands are found in tropical wet and dry climates. These areas are hot yearround. Although these areas are overall very dry, they do have a season of heavy rain.
Annual rainfall is from 20-50 inches per year. It is crucial that the rainfall is concentrated
in six or eight months of the year, followed by a long period of drought when fires can
occur.

Many of these tropical grasslands have been converted into the most
beneficial agricultural areas. There is not any other biome that is as
agriculturally beneficial to humans as the tropical grasslands. The soil is
very rich and fertile.

Native Plants

Bermuda Grass: It grows in

open areas where there are
frequent disturbances such as
grazing, flooding, and fire, or
even nutrient poor soil.

The candelabra tree is beautiful,

but poisonous. If a drop of the
white sap from the inner tree
comes in contact with the skin a
blister will form. It will blind you if
it touches the eyes and even
breathing the fumes burns. This
sticky poisonous latex along with
its sharp spines makes it so
animals don't feed on it.

The Baobob: Grows up to 25

meters tall and can live for
several thousand years. This
tree is lifeless for 9 months of
the year. In between these
nine months the tree stores
water in its trunk.

Native Animals

African elephants, also known as

the savanna elephants, are the
largest land mammal in the world.
They weigh up to 10,000 pounds
and grow to 12 feet tall. They have a
long trunk that is very flexible and
has nostrils on the end. It is used to
pick up food and water and carry it
to it's mouth. They have thick, gray
skin on their bodies that protects
them from deadly predator bites.

Plains Zebra: The horse of

the savanna. It has black
and white stripes and every
zebra has a different
pattern. They live in groups
for protection against
predators. The zebras are
very fast and the stripes
confuse predators.

Egyptian Mongoose, Egyptian

mongooses claws have adapted to
digging allowing them to dig bugs
out of the ground. Their teeth have
adapted to tearing the flesh of
animals they prey on. Egyptian
mongooses also eat poisonous
snakes. They can run backwards,
roll over, swim and stand on two
hind feet. They can puff their hair
up to appear two times their actual
size, change directions quickly and

Relationships<3
The oxpecker gets the ticks that are on the rhinoceros as its food.
The oxpeckers also warn the Rhinoceros of any danger that may
be lurking. An example of a predator prey relationship in the
Savanna, is a lion and a gazelle. A lion serves as the predator, and
catches and feeds on the gazelle that serves as the prey. Seen
most often between species of large predators like lions and
Leopards. Herbivores are often cooperative. Zebras eat long, dry
grass and the wildebeest then consume the remainder of the green
grass. The Gazelle then eat the tender new growth and keep the
plains open. This deters predators from using tall grass as cover.
Cheetahs have adapted to running down gazelle on open ground
but face intense competition from all other large carnivores.
Cheetahs are very lightly built for speed and lack the strength to
defend kills from anything larger than a jackal or vulture. Male
cheetahs often form large gangs to defend kills.

Endangered Species
` Black Rhino
Poaching and habitat loss
have reduced the black
rhino's range in western,
eastern and southern Africa.
Protection has improved in
some areas and the
Namibia's Etosha National
Park protects them from
poachers.

African Wild Dog

they have declined
precipitously due to disease,
habitat loss and active hunting
by livestock owners fearful of
depredation. Without the wild
dog there will be an increase
in the animals that they
consume like antelope,
gazelle, and other grazing
animals.

Invasive Species

The fire ant is an invasive species of the

African Savanna. It is replacing the local
ant species and eliminating other
arthropods. These little changes can
mess up the food chain dramatically.
The fire ant is believed to affect the eyes
of sea turtles, elephants, and large cats
of the Savanna and the bite of a fire ant
is painful. Scientists are working on
removing the species from the African
Savanna.

Weeds are an invasive plants that takes up

space, nutrients ,and light from other plants.
Many plants can be considered weeds in
different habitats. In the tropical savanna
weeds cause a lot of problems such as
outcompeting other plants and altering the
conditions of the ecosystem. Many chemical
preventative techniques are used to eradicate
the weeds from the area.

Human Impact

Urbanization: We are building on top of these areas and driving the animals away.
Farming: This leads to the starving of animals since farmers do not allow the animals to eat the
crops. Also, farming of livestock could deplete the grasses in soil and farming of the crops could
lead to the depletion of nutrients in the soil.
Hunting: Has killed off many of the animals in the biome.
Fires: The area is very susceptible to fires and it could devastate the ecosystem.