- Tropical grasslands are home to vast herds of grazing animals such as antelope and buffalo — and to the lions, cheetahs and other big cats that prey on them.
- There are few places to hide on the grasslands, so most grassland animals are fast runners with long legs.
- Pronghorn can manage 67 km/h for 16 km.
- There are more than 60 species of antelope on the grasslands of Africa and southern Asia.
- A century ago in South Africa, herds of small antelopes called springboks could be as large as 10 million strong and hundreds of kilometres long.
- Cheetahs are the fastest runners in the world, reaching 110 km/h in short bursts.
- The white rhino can weigh over 3.5 tonnes. The ‘white’ does not refer to the colour, which is pale grey. It means `wide’ from the broad snout.
- Grazing animals are divided into artiodactyls and perrisodactyls, according to how many toes they have.
- Artiodactyls have an even number of toes on each foot. They include camels buffalo, deer, antelope and cattle.
- Perrisodactyls have an odd number of toes. They include horses, rhinos and tapirs.
- The springbok gets its name from its habit of springing 3 m straight up in the air.
- Tropical grasslands are regions in the tropics where there is not enough rain half the year for trees to grow.
- Grasses in tropical grasslands tend to grow taller and faster than grasses in cooler regions.
- Grass stalks may be eaten by grazing animals, burned by bush fires or dry out, but roots survive underground.
- In Africa grasses include 3-m-tall elephant grasses. In Australia, they include tall spear grass and shorter kangaroo grass. In South America, there are plants called bunch grasses and species such as briza.
- Most tropical grasslands are scattered with bushes, shrubs and trees. In Africa, hardy broad-leaved trees such as curatella and byrsonima are typical.
- Many grassland trees are said to be sclerophyllous. This means they have tough leaves and stems to save water.
- In drier regions trees such as acacias are armed with spines to protect them against plant-eating animals. The thorns can be up to 50 cm long.
- In damper places palm trees often take the place of the thorn trees.
- Baobab trees are East African trees with massive trunks up to 9 m across which act as giant water stores.
- Baobab trees look so odd that an Arab legend says the devil turned them upside down so their roots stuck up in the air.
- The African baobab has a trunk so wide that 30 people holding hands could just about make a circle around it.
- In East Africa, the grassland is called savanna, and this name is often used for tropical grassland in other parts of the world.
- Tropical grasslands are regions in the tropics where there is not enough rain half the year for trees to grow.
- Grasses in tropical grasslands tend to grow taller and faster than grasses in cooler regions.
- Grass stalks may be eaten by grazing animals, burned by bush fires or dry out, but roots survive underground. Plant habitats
- In Africa grasses include 3-m-tall elephant grasses. In Australia, they include tall spear grass and shorter kangaroo grass. In South America, there are plants called bunch grasses and species such as briza.
- Most tropical grasslands are scattered with bushes, shrubs and trees. In Africa, hardy broad-leaved trees such as curatella and byrsonima are typical.
- Many grassland trees are said to be sclerophyllous. This means they have tough leaves and stems to save water.
- In drier regions trees such as acacias are armed with spines to protect them against plant-eating animals. The thorns can be up to 50 cm long.
- In damper places palm trees often take the place of the thorn trees.
Grassland Facts
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