TROPICAL SAVANNA

WHAT IS A TROPICAL SAVANNA?

• A tropical savanna is a dry, arid, and highly animal populated
• It is usually found in Africa and Austrailia
• It is also found in South America- this is a map of where it is
• It is characterized by grasses and scattered trees
• There are many types of animals and plants

CLIMATE

• Average precipitation: 50-130 cm per year
• Temperatures range from 70-90 F
• Summers are hot and rainy
• Winters are cool and dry
• This is an acacia tree

PLANTS

• Trees: acacia, baobab, candelabra
• Plants: kangaroo paws, elephant grass, Bermuda grass
• Baobab tree trunks can grow to be 40 feet around
• These trees and plants have adapted to grow with little water
• This is a baobab tree

ANIMALS

• Carnivora: lions ,cheetahs, dingos
• Perissoldactyla: zebras and rhinos
• Artiodactyla: gazelles, wildebeest, giraffe
• Birds: ostriches, starlings
• All of these animals are very fast so they can catch their prey- this is a lion

THREATS

• Poachers: they kill endangered species- They normally want their skin or tusks for money
• Wildfires- can burn large sections of savannas
• 16 percent of tropical savannas have been destroyed and used for crops
• 7 percent of tropical savannas have been used for cities or factories
• Overgrazing- the savannas can become subject to erosion- these are poachers

BIBLIOGRAPHY

• "ETE Team". 2004. Exploring the Environment. 2005. http://www.cotf.edu/ete/modules/msese/earthsysflr/savannahP.html
• Defenders of Wildlife. 2013. http://www.defenders.org/grasslands/tropical-grasslands
• Arnold, Caroline. "African Animals". New York: Morrow Junior Books, 1997. Print
• Eyewitness Visual Dictionaries. "The Visual Dictionary of Plants". New York: Dorling Kindersley Inc., 1992. Print
• Landau, Elaine. "Wildflowers Around the World". New York: Franklin Watts, 1991. Print--------this is a giraffe