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Amazing African steppe: flora and fauna. The climate of the savannah, its features, characteristic flora and fauna

Savannah is geographical area that everyone has heard of at least once. But often ideas do not quite correspond to reality. Meanwhile, the climate of the savannah is truly unique and interesting. Every connoisseur of exotic nature should study it in more detail.

Where is this zone located?

On the planet there are a dozen different natural belts. The savannah zone is one of them. It is best known as the main climate option in African territories. Each of the belts is distinguished by a certain set of plants and animals, which is determined by the temperature regime, topography and air humidity. The savannah zone is located in namely Brazil, northern Australia and the boundaries of such an area are usually deserts, dry or wet grasslands.

Characteristics

The climate is characterized by distinct seasons. They are called winter and summer. However, they do not differ in impressive amplitude of temperatures. As a rule, it is warm here all year round, the weather is never frosty. The temperature throughout the year ranges from eighteen to thirty-two degrees. The rise is usually gradual, without sharp jumps and falls.

Winter season

During this half of the year, the climate of the savannah in Africa and other continents becomes dry. Winter lasts from November to April, and during this entire period of time, no more than one hundred millimeters of precipitation falls. Sometimes they are completely absent. is twenty-one degrees. The savannah zone dries up completely, as a result of which fires can occur. Before the onset of winter, the region is characterized by thunderstorms with strong winds, which bring less humid atmospheric masses. Throughout this period, many animals have to roam in search of water and vegetation.

Summer season

In the warm half of the year, the climate of the savannah becomes extremely humid and resembles a tropical one. heavy rains start going regularly from May or June. Until October, the territory receives a large amount of precipitation, which ranges from two hundred and fifty to seven hundred millimeters. Humid air rises from the ground into the cold atmosphere, again causing rain. Therefore, precipitation falls daily, most often in the afternoon. This time is considered the best for the whole year. All animals and plants of the region have adapted to the climate of the savannah and are able to survive during the drought, waiting for these fertile months with frequent rain and comfortable air temperature.

Vegetable world

The climate of the savannah is conducive to the spread of special plants that can survive in conditions of alternating rain and drought. In the summertime, the local area becomes unrecognizable from the rapid flowering, and in winter everything disappears, creating a dead yellow landscape. Most of the plants are xerophytic in nature, the grass grows in tufts with narrow dry leaves. Trees are protected from evaporation by a high content of essential oils.

The most characteristic grass is elephant grass, named after the animals that love to eat its young shoots. It can grow up to three meters in height, and in winter it is preserved due to the underground root system, which is able to give life to a new stem. In addition, almost everyone is familiar with the baobab. These are tall trees with incredibly thick trunks and spreading crowns that can live for thousands of years. No less common are various acacias. Most often you can see species such as whitish or Senegalese. Oil palms grow near the equator, the pulp of which can be used in soap making, and wine is made from the inflorescences. The savannah of any continent is united by such features as the presence of a dense grass layer with xerophilous grasses and sparsely located large trees or shrubs, which most often grow singly or in small groups.

Animal world of the natural zone

Savannah has an impressive variety of fauna. Moreover, this area is different unique phenomenon migration of animals from one pasture to another. Extensive herds of ungulates are followed by numerous predators such as hyenas, lions, cheetahs and leopards. Vultures move along the savanna with them. In former times, the balance of species was stable, but the arrival of colonizers led to a deterioration in the situation. Species such as the white-tailed wildebeest or the blue horse antelope have been wiped off the face of the earth. Fortunately, reserves were created in time, where wild animals are kept intact. There you can see a variety of antelopes and zebras, gazelles, impalas, kongoni, elephants and giraffes. Oryxes with long horns are especially rare. Not often seen and where. Their spirally twisted horns are considered among the most beautiful in the world.

Savannah is an unusual world that lives by its own unique rules and laws. Everything in it is amazing: in winter it is not called the cold season, but the dry period, when there is a sharp shortage of water, and in summer it can rain non-stop for whole weeks. Such abrupt weather changes affect nature, subordinating it to their own rules. The picture of landscapes is completely different during such periods, and even animals behave differently.

Sometimes here you can see landscapes of amazing beauty, and at other times they become dull and cause despair. These contrasts have always attracted people and made them return to the unknown world of the savannah to see again amazing animals and plants that can only be found in this natural area.

amazing animals

In conditions of lack of moisture and food, animals need to show great endurance and be able to overcome vast territories in order to get their own food. Savannah is an ideal place for predators, because the low grass makes it possible to look around and see where the prey is hiding. However, there are also interesting representatives of the fauna that feed on plant foods.

The largest animal

It is in the savannah that the largest land animal on Earth lives - the African bush elephant. Its average weight is 5 tons, but in 1956 the largest representative weighing 11 tons was recorded! On the muzzle there are huge curved tusks that form from the front teeth. Their weight averages 100 kg. Tusks have always been highly valued by man, so the population of elephants was mercilessly destroyed, and this process has not stopped even now.

Elephants are social animals. It is believed that their herds are the most united in the entire kingdom of fauna. They are very kind to sick or injured family members, help them eat and support if weak relatives find it difficult to stand.

There is an opinion that only elephants from the whole animal world have a burial rite. Realizing that their brother is dead, they cover him from above with branches and earth. It is surprising that they “bury” in this way not only representatives of their own family, but also unfamiliar elephants from other families, and even people. Similar and others, no less Interesting Facts about the life and death of these animals are described in detail in the book of the famous zoologist and writer-naturalist Bernard Grzimek "Among the Animals of Africa".

Another trait similar to humans is the love of having sex. These African inhabitants have sex throughout the year, although they are only capable of fertilization for a few days during the rainy season. Males show courtship so that the female is supportive of them. Elephant pregnancy is the longest on earth and lasts almost 2 years - 22 months. Elephants feel the approach of childbirth and can speed it up by eating a special kind of grass that causes contractions.

The cubs are born blind, so they amusingly hold on to their mother's tail so as not to get lost.

Creeping fear

The black mamba is colored brownish-gray, which makes one wonder at its name. In fact, the word "black" did not arise by chance: this color can be seen on the inner surface of the mouth when a snake rushes at a person to bite him. This amazing representative of reptiles reaches an impressive size, growing up to 4 meters, and it can move at a speed exceeding the running speed of many people - 20 km / h.

There are not so many snakes in the world with such strong poison: after a bite, a black mamba crawls away for a certain distance and waits for the poison to paralyze the victim. Previously, after the bite of this snake, people could not escape and died in agony, but now a special antidote has been developed that can prevent death. The only difficulty is that the serum must be injected within the first minutes after the bite, otherwise it will not save the bitten person.

The hunting skills of these snakes are manifested from birth: already half an hour after the babies hatched from the eggs, they are able to attack the victim and inject deadly poison into it.

Unlike other species of mamba, this species does not live in trees. However, she found a less exotic home for herself in the form of empty termite mounds.

savanna master

The first picture that comes to mind when thinking about the savannah is the graceful king of animals - a lion resting after a hunt. This predator is rather lazy: he will never make an extra move if he is not already hungry.

During mating season the female and the male leave the pride and indulge in love pleasures for a week. All this period they do not hunt and starve, greatly losing weight. At the same time, copulation occurs with a frequency of once every 15 to 20 minutes. Sometimes the number of mating reaches 100 times a day. After the love period ends, the lions regain their weight for a long time.

These felines sleep surprisingly much: 20 hours a day, like domestic cats. In a good mood, they can purr and bask in the sun, but when a lion becomes furious, he lets out a roar that spreads over 10 km in the area. Only with the help of a roar can he scare away animals that are dangerous for females or cubs.

Most often, lions hunt at night. This is caused by very sharp night vision, which is almost as good as daylight vision. Since most prey lack universal vision, the chances of success in a lion's night hunt are greatly increased.

The tallest

Savannah has become home to many record holders. These include giraffes - the tallest animals on the planet. Their growth is from 4.6 to 6 meters, most of which falls on the neck.

Female giraffes often arrange kindergartens, in which several adults look after the babies, and the rest go at this time for food. After the first ones are full, they replace the hungry "nannies".

Giraffes sleep only 60 minutes a day, sometimes they can do it while standing. Despite such a short sleep duration, savanna spotted inhabitants never yawn: they are the only animals that do not know how to do this.

proud bird

The ostrich is not able to fly because of its impressive weight, but it runs so fast that it is slightly inferior to the flight of some birds. At a speed of 70 km / h, he shows amazing mobility: if desired, he can abruptly change the direction of the run, without slowing down at all and without slowing down.

It is this species that holds the record for the size of the egg: in a one and a half kilogram ostrich egg, 2.5 dozen chicken eggs would easily fit. The nest is built by the male, and all the females he has fertilized lay their eggs there. During the day, they sit on the nest, and at night, a caring dad takes over and warms the eggs with his body.

When the chicks are in danger, ostriches can be cunning and show amazing acting skills, portraying a wounded and weak creature, leading the predator away from the kids. Children at this time quickly run to one of the adults and hide their heads under a large wing. Then the ostrich leaves the amazed predator and returns to his herd.

Fancy set

The Cape aardvark is puzzling in its appearance: it feels like parts of the body of different animals have been assembled in it. With a body it resembles an anteater, with long ears - a rabbit, a piglet borrowed from piglets, and a tail inherited from a kangaroo.

An amazing animal has such an original nose shape in order to eat termites, which it hunts at night. He has an excellent sense of smell, thanks to which the aardvark accurately finds termite mounds and devastates them. During the night, he can travel about 50 km in search of delicious insects. Termites are not afraid of the aardvark, as its skin is so thick that insects are not able to bite through it. They stick to the sticky tongue and go straight to the stomach.

The body dimensions of the aardvark are quite impressive: it can grow up to 2.3 m. If it is driven natural enemy, it shows great strength with which it can slash the enemy with its claws, beats with its hind legs and somersaults forward very quickly.

amazing plants

The main characteristic of the savannas is long dry months followed by periods of rain. It is this parameter that determines the life of plants in this band. Most of them are perfectly adapted to frequent fires and are able to recover in a short time.

Millennial Elders

One of the main symbols of the savannah are amazing trees - baobabs. It is difficult to determine the age of the oldest specimens, because these trees do not have annual rings, so it will not be possible to determine their age in the standard way. According to the general estimates of scientists, baobabs can live for about a thousand years, but radiocarbon analysis gives other figures - 4500 years. During their lives, they manage to build up a huge sprawling crown. For the winter, they shed their leaves, but not from the cold, but from the drought.

The flowering of the baobab is an amazing sight. The process continues for several months, but each flower lives only one night, so it will not be possible to see a blooming baobab during the day. Since most insects sleep at night, these flowers are not pollinated by them, but by bats that live here.

The baobab has another amazing property that is rarely found among trees: after cutting down the main trunk, the baobab is able to take on new roots and take root again. Often in this way, trees felled by a storm survive, which forever remain in a lying position.

Bleeding dragons

In the past, the natives considered dragon trees to be enchanted monsters. The reason for this was the amazing property of dracaena: when its bark was scratched or cut with a knife, red resinous juice began to ooze, resembling blood. The very name "dracaena" is translated as "female dragon".

Previously, the resinous liquid was used for embalming, and now this juice is used on an industrial scale to prepare the production of red pigments, paints and varnishes. Dracaena has also found application in medicine and cosmetology: it is used as a component for the treatment of gastric diseases and skin problems.

The dragon tree is characterized by very slow growth, but over the decades, some representatives reach enormous sizes. An amazing "umbrella" shape of the crown is formed only after flowering, and before that, the dracaena grows with a single trunk. The foliage is very densely located in the crown, therefore, at the foot of the dracaena, people and animals tired of the heat often find rest in continuous shade. plant from natural environment habitat has spread throughout the world as a houseplant, because it is very undemanding to care for, but looks attractive and exotic.

The savannah is filled mainly with pampas grasses. But there are absolutely amazing representatives among them. Elephant grass is one of these. This plant can reach a height of 3 meters, creating barriers for large animals, and for small animals, acting as a reliable shelter and home.

Elephant grass grows near shallow water bodies. When they dry up, it can massively lie down from a lack of moisture, while blocking the channels of streams or small rivers. She is also afraid of coolness, so the ground part dies off immediately with the first cold snap. The root system of this cereal penetrates very far into the soil, taking root to a depth of 4.5 meters, where it draws water. After droughts, with the advent of the first rains, it quickly grows again and serves as food for many animals: zebras, antelopes, giraffes and other herbivores.

People do not ignore it either, using elephant grass for cooking some dishes, using it in construction and growing it as an ornamental plant.

The savannahs of the world keep many secrets. A traveler who decides to visit these lands will find many amazing discoveries that will allow them to understand the romance of a safari and appreciate this harsh but attractive world.

It is directly dependent on the weather. With each period of drought, the savanna loses its brightness and turns into a sea of dried grass and sultry gloom. And after a few days of rain, nature becomes unrecognizable.

Savannah vegetation has adapted to dry continental climate and long droughts and has a sharply xerophytic character. All herbs usually grow in tufts. The leaves of cereals are dry and narrow, hard and covered with a wax coating. The foliage on the trees is small, protected from excessive evaporation. Many species are high in essential oils.

Of the grasses for the savanna, elephant grass (Pinnisetum purpu-reum, P. Benthami) is typical. It got its name due to the fact that elephants love to feast on its young shoots. In areas where the doge season is longer, the height of the grasses can reach three meters. During a drought, the ground part of the shoot dries up and is often destroyed by fires, however, the underground part of the plant is preserved and after the rains gives a new life.

The hallmark of the savannah is the baobab (Adansonla digitata). The height of the tree reaches 25 meters, a thick (up to 10 meters in diameter) trunk and a huge spreading crown are typical. And recently, a giant baobab was discovered in Africa, 189 meters high and with a trunk diameter of 44 meters at the base. These are long-lived trees, the age of some reaches 4-5 thousand years.

Baobab blooms for several months, but each flower lives only one night. The flowers are pollinated by bats. Baobab is also called the "monkey tree", as its fruits are a favorite food for monkeys. A person in a baobab uses everything: he makes paper from the inner layer of the bark, eats the leaves, and receives a special substance adansonin from the seeds, which he uses as an antidote for poisoning.

Also in Africa, acacia savannahs are often found. More common Senegalese, whitish, giraffe acacia and other species (Acacia albida, A. arabica, A. Giraffae). Due to its crown, which has a flattened shape, the acacia is called umbrella-shaped. The adhesives contained in the bark are widely used in industry, and the wood is used to make high-quality expensive furniture.

Savanna definition, savanna characteristics, savanna flora and fauna

Savannah Definition Information, Savannah Characteristics, Savannah Flora and Fauna

General characteristics of the savannas

Soils and vegetation cover

Basic processes of soil formation

Main soil types

Plant communities of the savannas

Animal world of the savannah

Animals

insect

Savannah- vast expanses in the subequatorial belt, covered with grassy vegetation with sparsely scattered trees and shrubs. They are typical for the subequatorial climate with a sharp division of the year into dry and rainy seasons.

Savannah(otherwise campos or llanos) - steppe-like places characteristic of more elevated tropical countries with a dry continental climate. Unlike real steppes (as well as North American prairies), savannas, in addition to grasses, also contain shrubs and trees, sometimes growing in a whole forest, as, for example, in the so-called "campos cerrados" of Brazil. The herbaceous vegetation of the savannas consists mainly of high (up to ⅓-1 meters) dry and hard-skinned grasses, usually growing in tufts; grasses are mixed with turfs of other perennial grasses and shrubs, and in damp places flooded in spring, also various representatives of the sedge family. Shrubs grow in savannahs, sometimes in large thickets, occupying an area of much square meters. Savannah trees are usually stunted; the tallest of them are no taller than our fruit trees, to which they are very similar in their crooked stems and branches. Trees and shrubs are sometimes entwined with vines and overgrown with epiphytes. There are few bulbous, tuberous and fleshy plants in the savannas, especially in South America. Lichens, mosses and algae are extremely rare in savannas, only on rocks and trees.

General characteristics of the savannas

The general appearance of the savannahs is different, which depends, on the one hand, on the height of the vegetation cover, and on the other hand, on the relative amount of grasses, other perennial grasses, semi-shrubs, shrubs and trees; for example, the Brazilian shrouds ("campos cerrados") are actually light, rare forests, where you can freely walk and drive in any direction; the soil in such forests is covered with vegetative herbaceous (and semi-shrub) cover ½ and even 1 meter high. In the savannahs of other countries, trees do not grow at all or are extremely rare and are very short. The grass cover is also sometimes very low, even pressed to the ground. A special form of savannas is the so-called llanos of Venezuela, where trees are either completely absent or are found in a limited number, with the exception of damp places where palm trees (Mauritia flexuosa, Corypha inermis) and other plants form entire forests (however, these forests do not belong to savannas); in llanos there are sometimes single specimens of Rhopala (trees from the Proteaceae family) and other trees; sometimes the cereals in them form a cover as tall as a man; Compositae, leguminous, labiate, etc. grow between cereals. Many llanos in the rainy season are flooded by the floods of the Orinoco River.

The vegetation of the savannas is generally adapted to a dry continental climate and to periodic droughts, which occur in many savannas for whole months. Cereals and other grasses rarely form creeping shoots, but usually grow in tufts. The leaves of cereals are narrow, dry, hard, hairy or covered with a waxy coating. In grasses and sedges, young leaves remain rolled up into a tube. In trees, the leaves are small, hairy, shiny (“lacquered”) or covered with a waxy coating. The vegetation of the savannas generally has a pronounced xerophytic character. Many species contain large amounts of essential oils, especially those of the Verbena, Labiaceae and Myrtle families. South America. The growth of some perennial grasses, semi-shrubs (and shrubs) is especially peculiar, namely, that the main part of them, located in the ground (probably, the stem and roots), grows strongly into an irregular tuberous woody body, from which then numerous, mostly unbranched or weakly branched, offspring. In the dry season, the vegetation of the savannas freezes; savannahs turn yellow, and dried plants are often subjected to fires, due to which the bark of trees is usually scorched. With the onset of rains, the savannahs come to life, covered with fresh greenery and dotted with numerous different flowers.

Savannahs are characteristic of South America proper, but in other countries one can point out many places that are very similar in the nature of their vegetation to savannahs. Such, for example, are the so-called Campine in the Congo (in Africa); in South Africa, some places are covered with a vegetation cover consisting mainly of grasses (Danthonia, Panicum, Eragrostis), other perennial grasses, shrubs and trees (Acacia horrida), so that such places resemble both the prairies of North America and the savannas of South America; similar places are found in Angola.

The eucalyptus forests of Australia are quite similar to the "campos cerratos" of the Brazilians; they are also light and so rare (the trees are far apart from each other and do not close in crowns) that it is easy to walk in them and even drive in any direction; the soil in such forests during the rainy season is covered with green thickets, consisting mainly of cereals; in the dry season, the soil is exposed.

In areas located a few degrees north and south of the equator, the climate is usually very dry. However, during certain months it gets very hot and it rains. Such places, located all over the world, are called savanna zones. This name comes from the African savanna, which is the largest region with this type of climate. When it rains The savannah zones are located between two tropics - lines where twice a year the sun at noon is exactly at its zenith. At such times, it becomes much hotter there and much more sea water evaporates from this, which leads to heavy rains. In the areas of the savannas closest to the equator, the sun is exactly at its zenith at the intermediate moments of the year (in March and September), so that several months separate one rainy season from another. In the areas of the savannas, the most distant from the equator, both rainy seasons are so close in time to each other that they practically merge into one. The duration of the rainy period is from eight to nine months, and at the equatorial borders - from two to three. What grows in the savannah? Living conditions in the savannah are very harsh. The soil contains few nutrients, during dry seasons it dries up, and during wet seasons it becomes waterlogged. In addition, fires often occur there at the end of dry seasons. Plants that have adapted to the conditions of the savannas are very cruel.

There are thousands of different herbs growing there. But trees, in order to survive, need some specific qualities to protect against drought and fire. For example, the baobab is distinguished by a thick trunk protected from fire, capable of storing water reserves, like a sponge. Its long roots suck up moisture deep underground. Acacia has a wide flat crown, which creates a shadow for the leaves growing below, thereby protecting them from drying out.

Wild Savannah Life Many areas of the savannah are now used for pastoralism and the wild life forms there have completely disappeared. However, in the African savannah there are huge national parks where wild animals still live. Savannah animals have been forced to adapt to survive in drought conditions. Large herbivores such as giraffes, zebras, wildebeest, elephants, and rhinoceroses are able to travel great distances and, if it gets too dry in some place, they go to where it rains and where there is a lot of vegetation. Predators such as lions, cheetahs and hyenas preyed on the wandering herds of animals. It is difficult for small animals to start out in search of water, so they prefer to hibernate during the entire dry season. This is called summer hibernation.

These are flat or slightly hilly plains, where open, grassy areas alternate with groups of trees or dense thickets of thorny bushes. In the rainy season, the savannah is covered with tall grass, which turns yellow and fades with the onset of the dry season. Agriculture in the savannas is almost not developed, and the main occupation of the local population is cattle breeding.

Soils and vegetation cover

In the savannahs, soils are developed, united under the name red-brown; when they are distinguished into a special type, they use geographical features, that is, they include open areas with a grassy cover. They are characterized by a greater or lesser content of humus from the decomposition of herbaceous vegetation, as a result of which such soils are rich in nutrients. In soils of periodic moistening, in savannahs, the processes of enrichment with sesquioxides occur more vigorously than in wet red soils. rainforest, and often lead to the formation of a shell, that is, a hard crust on the surface, or the fertile granular structure of the soil mentioned above.

In savannahs, the sharp seasonality of precipitation is reflected in the processes of soil formation: during the rainy period, there is a rapid and vigorous leaching of soils, while in the dry period, due to the strong heating of the surface layers, the opposite process occurs - the rise of soil solutions. Therefore, humus accumulates to a greater extent in dry savannahs and steppes with a long rainless period. The soils of the savannahs, depending on the amount of precipitation and the duration of the dry period, are very diverse, forming transitions from lateritic and red-brown soils of cereal savannahs to black and chernozem dry savannahs. Depending on the combination of climatic and soil conditions, as well as on the relief, savannahs are distinguished by a wide variety of plant communities and the general nature of the aspect.

Basic processes of soil formation

Soils develop on ancient continental leveling surfaces in two-season climate zones with an annual rainfall of 400-500 mm. In terms of humidity, the climate is arid, with an average annual temperature of + 19 °, + 22 °, an average temperature in January + 24 °, + 27 °, and in July + 14 °, + 17 °.

The soils are red-brown subarid with carbonate concretions on ancient crusts and brown tropical subarid. They are distributed mainly on the East African Plateau, the Ethiopian Highlands, in the Kalahari Basin, and also in the Sahel zone (on the border with the Sahara). Soils develop in arid conditions of the tropics with a dry season of 4-6 months, with an annual rainfall of 200 to 500 mm, and in the Guinean part - up to 700 mm. The average annual temperature reaches + 26°, +28°. Absolute heights within the plateau are 300-500 m, and on the plateaus 1000-1500 m.

Main soil types

The soils of the formation are distributed within the Sahel zone, the Ethiopian highlands and the East African plateau, as well as in the arid regions of the Kalahari and Karoo. The soils of the formation occupy 6,262.2 thousand square meters. km. They are grouped by region based on the duration of the dry season: about four months, more than four months, and with a long dry season. Hydromorphic and semi-hydromorphic soils 752.2 thousand square meters. km.

Areas with a dry season of about four months.

The soils are red-brown, distributed in North Africa between longitudes 15 ° and 30 ° south of the zone of brown subarid tropical soils and north of ferruginous tropical soils, as well as in South Africa on the piedmont plains west of the Drakensberg Mountains. Soils develop on ancient continental leveling surfaces in two-season climate zones with an annual rainfall of 400-500 mm. In terms of humidity, the climate is arid, with an average annual temperature of + 19 °, + 22 °, an average temperature in January + 24 °, + 27 °, and in July + 14 °, + 17 °.

Vegetation - savanna combined with clarified acacia forests.

Red-brown soils, according to R. Maigne (1962), are characterized by a total profile thickness not exceeding two meters.

In the soil above, there is a yellowish-grayish or brownish crust 1-2 cm thick, usually leafy in structure (which is also characteristic of brown arid soils of the USSR). Under the crust to a depth of 20 cm there is a loose horizon with a reddish tint, clayey with a clearly expressed nutty structure. At a depth of 50-100 cm, horizon B is reddish in color, denser, hardening, which indicates lateritism; the structure is coarsely flat-lumpy or blocky. From about 100 cm, an ocher-colored horizon begins, lightened downwards. At a depth of 200 cm, small carbonate concretions appear. The mass of soil surrounding them is not always carbonate.

The bases from red-brown soils are often washed out. The content of free iron is significant. According to the mechanical composition, fine sand prevails in the soils and an increase in clay content in horizon B is characteristic. The humus content is from 0.5 to 1%, and it decreases quite sharply downwards, which is also characteristic of ferruginous tropical soils. Mineralization of humus is quite fast. The C^ ratio is narrow (3-6). The pH value is neutral to slightly acidic. The absorption capacity is low (2 meq per 100 g of soil), which is due to both the light texture and the presence of kaolinite. Along with kaolinite, illite is also present in soils.

Red-brown eutrophic (saturated) soils are formed at outcrops of the main, mainly volcanic, rocks of Central Africa in the zone of ferruginous tropical soils.

Territories with red-brown soils are used as pastures; in addition, millet and peanuts are cultivated on them.

Areas with a dry season of more than four months.

Vegetation - dry and deserted a. baths with acacias, acacia-euphorbia savannas are also common.

Red-brown subarid soils are usually carbonate, sometimes merged. In general, they differ less power horizons and some color features. According to M.A. Glazovskaya (1975), the humus horizon does not exceed 15 cm in thickness, horizon B is only 30 cm thick, mostly blocky, brownish or reddish-brown, with carbonate concretions. Under horizon B, a carbonate horizon is distinguished. The soils are low in humus (0.3-0.5%), fulvic acids and humins predominate in the composition of humus. The reaction is neutral in the Ive horizon in the upper part of the B horizon, and below it is alkaline.

Red-brown subarid soils of the savanna north of the Luga-Lingere-Matam line are low-humus (0.25-0.5%), often gravel-stony, have a neutral reaction. The thickness of their humus horizon does not exceed 50 cm. The C:K ratio in most cases is 4-9. The content of exchangeable bases in the surface horizon is about 2 mg-eq per 100 g of soil, and increases in the depth of the profile. The absorbed bases are dominated by Ca and Mg. These soils are used for grazing and sometimes for agriculture. With the abandonment of archaic methods of use (excessive grazing, burning of grass, processing for crops in the dry season), you can not be afraid of their degradation. Agricultural development of soils with modern methods of agricultural technology should be limited.

On the plain of Marrakesh, red-brown subarid tyrsified soils are found (on soil map Africa, due to their very small areas, they entered the areas of other soils). They are used for cereals with irrigation. Left under fallow pastures for 6-18 months. Overgrazing and the creation of a no-irrigation period affect soil formation. During the dry period, cracking, compaction, lamellarity appear in the soils in the upper layer up to a depth of 15 cm. Tarifficated soil profile:

0-15 cm - red, clayey-loamy, medium-nutty, porous (arable);

15-60 cm - brown-red, clayey, coarse prismatic, slightly cubic, very dense;

60-100 cm - brown-red, clayey, polyhedral, coarse-lumpy with gloss;

100-120 cm - brown-reddish, lamellar, accumulation of farinaceous carbonates;

120-140 cm - brown, clay-loamy, almost structureless, silty carbonates. The entire profile is carbonate.

The C ratio is about 10. Clay-humus soil complexes are stable. After the destruction of humus, the color of the soil becomes brown-red. Exchange bases are of the following composition: calcium 55-80%, magnesium 15-30%, sodium 5-15%. Soils with better drainage and on lighter rocks turn red and lose their structure.

Irrigation without taking into account the specifics of soil properties can lead to strong tirsification, mainly when using saline waters. When using these soils, special attention is paid to the application of organic fertilizers.

Brown tropical subarid soils were most clearly and genetically substantiated described by R. Manien. He established the specifics of brown subarid soils, which are formed under conditions of a two-season climate, when short-term but massive rains fall for three months. In the dry and hot season, the temperature reaches +45° C. The average annual temperature in this zone is +27°, +28°, the amount of precipitation is 200-350 mm. During the rainy season, a significant grass cover appears, but the root system is mainly involved in soil processes, and the upper layer is destroyed due to frequent fires. The vegetation cover is formed by grasses (aristides, anthropogones) and woody forms (thorny grass savannah with acacias, in which plants often have umbrella-shaped forms).

The general characteristics of the profile and chemical properties are partially similar to those of brown soils in extratropical regions. So, for example, the thickness of the profile reaches 100 cm, the upper horizon is structural, slightly foliated. Deeper, prismatic and granular structures are observed; carbonates usually appear from a depth of 30 cm. The humus content is from 1 to 2%. The ratio C= 8, pH value=6.5-7.4. The given characteristics are close to the data on brown semi-desert soils of Kazakhstan. At the same time, the influence of the tropical climate is manifested in the following features of the described soils: deep and uniform staining with humus is stated, although its content is low; carbonate content is weaker than in brown extratropical soils, and salinity is also weaker; the appearance of fusion in less drained conditions and the transition to black tropical soils are specific; a significant amount of free iron, reaching 70-75% of the gross.

The composition of humus is dominated by gray humic acids associated with calcium (more than 70%). Soil solutions have good buffering capacity. A lighter mechanical composition of the upper horizons is noted, which is associated with sanding, blowing or planar washing of fine particles. Clay migration along the profile is not observed; therefore, the clay content of deeper horizons is explained mainly by neosynthesis processes in an alkaline medium (mixtures of kaolinite, illite, and montmorillonite have been identified).

Territories with brown tropical subarid soils are suitable for pastures. Modern methods drilling allows you to get water from deep wells for a watering place (it should be noted that the concentration of herds at watering places leads to the degradation of vegetation). When using the rainy season, peanuts and millet are cultivated. In the valleys, the floodplain moisture regime is favorable for corn, rice, and millet.

Areas with a long dry season.

Soils - black tropical. Some authors call them margallite. The most widely accepted name is vertisoli. An extensive array of these soils stretches along the western slopes of the mountains of East Africa, on the interfluves of the Blue Nile, Omo and White Nile. To the west of the White Nile, this massif adjoins the zones of tropical ferruginous and ferrallitic soils. Significant areas of black tropical soils are located south of the depression of Lake Chad, southeast of Lake Victoria and in the upper reaches of the Niger River. In southern Africa, these soils are not common.

Black tropical soils are formed at an average annual temperature of + 25 °, + 28 ° and the amount of annual precipitation from 200 to 1000 mm. Characterized by a sharp alternation of wet and dry seasons. The last lasts 5-8 months. According to the degree of humidity, the climate is classified as periodically arid. The vegetation on these soils is forest vanna with acacias and baobabs. In dry areas, shrub savannah is common. In arid dry savannahs, various species of bearded vulture, drin, etc.

Black tropical soils develop on ancient alluvial plains, in depressions of various origins, as well as on plateaus and peneplains with flat and gently undulating relief. In the latter case, they are formed according to the automorphic type. Soil-forming rocks are predominantly heavy montmorillonite clays and weathering products of mainly basic volcanic rocks.

R. Dudal (Willa, 1966) made a detailed summary characterization of these soils on the basis of his research in Africa and Indonesia.

The geochemical conditions for the formation of black tropical soils in valleys and depressions are peculiar. So, in the Blue Nile basin, their formation is associated with the influence of waters flowing from the Ethiopian highlands. The White Nile flows along the edge of the graben, where volcanic activity is significantly manifested and the corresponding rocks (lavas and ashes) saturated with bases are widespread. Base-rich waters do not enter the Niger Basin and the Kalahari, and black tropical soils are rare in this basin. In the Congo Basin, despite the connection of alluvial strata with basic rocks, black tropical soils do not develop, since climatic conditions (a large amount of precipitation) favor intensive leaching of the bases.

The most characteristic properties of black tropical soils are dark color with a low content of humus, alkaline or close to neutral reaction, plasticity, viscosity and swelling when wet. Soil structure - from lumpy to blocky. Soils in the dry season crack up to a depth of two meters. The upper, usually looser layers are filled into these cracks, which over time leads to mixing of the soil mass. Hillocks with polygonal cracks form on the soil surface, the cracks cover the entire profile. The humus content in the black soils of Africa ranges from 0.5 to 3.5%. The composition of the absorbed bases is dominated by Mg and, to a lesser extent, Ca. There is a low content of potassium (0.1-0.4 meq per 100 g of soil).Usually, carbonates are present in these soils (diffusely or in the form of small pea-shaped nodules); sulfates and chlorides are observed in the most arid conditions.On more clay varieties of black tropical soils, prolonged stagnation occurs precipitation, the appearance of ferruginous nodules and easily soluble salts at the bottom of the profile. A specific microrelief is created - small-hilly, fissured (gilgai).

The genetic properties of the described soils are determined by the formation of montmorillonite swelling clays in them by synthesis in situ or as a result of the introduction of substances into depressions. In the composition of clay minerals, in addition to montmorillonite, illite is present, and kaolinite is noted in more humid conditions. It is noted that in the case of the predominance of illite, but in the presence of montmorillonite, the properties of swelling clays still manifest themselves.

The dark color of tropical black soils is explained by the special forms of association of organic matter with clays. According to the type of humus, these soils are peculiar and differ from the humus of chernozems in fulvation and strong bonds with iron. The ratio of C-humic acids to C-fulvic acids is less than 1 (Ponomareva, 1965).

Research in the 1960s and 1970s refuted the idea of considering black tropical soils as analogous to chernozems. Black tropical soils with montmorillonite clays are considered by some authors as intrazonal. However, already in the work of F. Duchaufour (1970), the opinion was expressed that soils with swelling clays can be divided into tropical and Mediterranean (thyrsas). In addition, black tropical soils are known to develop both in automorphic conditions (for example, on basic rocks in Ethiopia) and in depressions, along valleys and terraces, where soils have a hydromorphic genesis. These different conditions of soil formation do not have an intrazonal character.

Agricultural development of black tropical soils is widespread in more humid areas, since these soils are highly biologically active, have a rich mineralogical composition, retain moisture, and with systematic processing and special agricultural technology, they acquire a loose, granular-cloddy structure at the top. When irrigated, cotton, rice, sorghum, sugarcane are cultivated on them, and without irrigation, corn and cereals. The use of moisture (natural or irrigated) by plants faces great difficulties, since physical properties soils (their confluence, rapid swimming) determine poor filtration. Drainage is difficult due to poor water permeability, and increased evaporation poses a threat of salinization. However, ploughing, leaving blocks in the field, applying phosphorus, nitrogen, manure and mulching improve soils.

In addition, field processing in the form of ridges is practiced. The use of this agricultural technology allows you to get high yields. This is all the more valuable in those areas where black tropical soils are developed in combination with less fertile soils, such as ferruginous tropical, red-brown dry savannas!

Black tropical soils of soil moisture and surface standing water (hydromorphic vertisalts) are common in depressions, on high river terraces, and along microrelief depressions. They differ in carbonate content, salinity along with gleying at the bottom of the profile. Surface waterlogging enhances swelling and fissuring of soils, which creates a characteristic microrelief (gilgai), which prevents their use.

On low river terraces, dark meadow soils are formed, which are called in West Africa.

Plant communities of the savannas

From the border of the hylae, the zone of cereal savanna begins, where the rainy period lasts 9-10 months a year with a total rainfall of 1500-1000 mm .

1. A typical grass savanna is a space entirely covered with tall grasses, dominated by grasses, with sparse individual trees, shrubs or groups of trees. Most plants have a hydrophytic character due to the fact that during the rainy season the air humidity in the savannahs resembles a tropical forest. However, plants of a xerophytic character also appear, adapting to the transfer of a dry triode. Unlike hydrophytes, they have smaller leaves and other adaptations to reduce evaporation.

During the dry period, the grasses burn out, some types of trees drop their leaves, although others lose it only shortly before the new one appears; savanna becomes yellow; dried grass is burned annually to fertilize the soil.1 The damage that these fires bring to vegetation is very great, since it disrupts the normal winter dormancy cycle of plants, but at the same time it also causes their vital activity: after a fire, young grass quickly appears. When the rainy season comes, cereals and other herbs grow amazingly quickly, and the trees are covered with leaves. In the grass savanna, the grass cover reaches heights of 2-3 m, and in low places 5 m.

Of the cereals here are typical: elephant grass (Pinnisetum purpu-reum, P. Benthami), Andropogon species, etc., with long, wide, hairy leaves of xerophytic appearance. Of the trees, the oil palm (Elaeis gui-neensis) should be noted 8-12 m heights, pandanus, butter tree (Buthy-rospermum), Bauhinia reticulata - evergreen tree with broad leaves. Baobab (Adansonla digitata) and various types of doum palm (Hiphaena) are often found. Along the river valleys stretch several kilometers wide gallery forests resembling giley, with many palm trees.

2. Cereal savannas are gradually replaced by acacia. They are characterized by a continuous cover of grasses of lower height - from 1 to 1.5 m; of the trees they are dominated by various types of acacias with a dense umbrella-shaped crown, for example, species: Acacia albida, A. arabica, A. giraffae, etc. In addition to acacias, one of the characteristic trees in such savannahs is the baobab, or monkey breadfruit, reaching m in diameter and 25 m height, containing a significant amount of water loose fleshy trunk.

3. In drier areas, where the rainless period lasts from five to three months, dry prickly semi-savannas prevail. Most of the year the trees and shrubs in these areas stand without leaves; low grasses (Aristida, Panicum) often do not form a continuous cover; among cereals grow low up to 4 m heights, thorny trees (Acacia, Terminalia, etc.)

This community is also called the steppe by many researchers. This term is widely used in the literature on the vegetation of Africa, but does not fully correspond to the understanding of our term "steppe".

4. Dry thorny semi-savannahs are replaced with the distance from the acacia savannahs to the so-called prickly-shrub savannah. It reaches 18-19 ° S. sh., occupying most of the Kalahari (except for the west). In South Africa on the Boer Plateau they are called "Veld". In East Africa, these communities are less developed and are characteristic mainly of the Somali peninsula. The dry period has been going on for 7-9 months, and the vegetation acquires a clearly xerophytic character. The number of occurring trees decreases, the trees are shorter, new species with small-pinnate leaves and thorns appear. Characteristically, the Bauhinia reticulata tree in this zone has smaller leaves and sheds them, while in the savannah it is evergreen. In addition to bauhinia, there are thorny undersized acacias, baobab and others. There are succulent plants that store water for long rainless months (species of Euphorbiaceae), shrubs and semi-shrubs. Shrubs have sparse, small, small, dense leaves, spines and are covered with white hairs, giving them a silvery-gray appearance. Semi-shrubs are cushion-shaped, found among the grass, and on stony spaces form pure associations. The grass cover becomes more sparse and lower (no more than 0.8-1 m height), "often forms turfs. Andropogon species are replaced by more xerophytic Aristida species.

Despite a number common features, steppes, like savannahs, are distinguished by considerable diversity, which makes their separation very difficult.

animal worldsavannas

The fauna of the savannah is a unique phenomenon. In no corner of the Earth in the memory of mankind has there been such an abundance of large animals as in the African savannas. As early as the beginning of the 20th century. countless herds of herbivores roamed the expanses of the savannas, moving from one pasture to another or in search of watering places.

They were accompanied by numerous predators - lions, leopards, hyenas, cheetahs. Predators were followed by carrion eaters - vultures, jackals .. The indigenous people of Africa have been hunting for a long time. However, as long as man was primitively armed, a kind of balance was maintained between the decrease in animals and the increase in their number. With the advent of white colonizers, armed with firearms, the situation has changed radically. Due to immoderate hunting, the number of animals quickly decreased, and some species, such as quagga, white-tailed wildebeest, blue horse antelope, were completely exterminated.

The fencing of private properties, the laying of roads, steppe fires, the plowing of large areas, and the expansion of cattle breeding aggravated plight wild animals. Finally, the Europeans, unsuccessfully trying to fight the tsetse fly, staged a grandiose massacre, and more than 300 thousand elephants, giraffes, buffaloes, zebras, wildebeest and other antelopes were shot from rifles and machine guns from vehicles. Many animals also died from the plague brought with cattle. Now you can drive hundreds of kilometers through the savannas and not meet a single large animal. Gazelle Grant. Fortunately, there were far-sighted people who insisted on the creation of reserves, where all hunting and economic activities were prohibited.

The governments of the newly independent states of Africa, which have thrown off the yoke of colonialism, have strengthened and expanded the network of such reserves - the last refuges for wild animals. Only there can one still admire the view of the primeval savannah. Horsetail antelope. Among the many species of ungulates inhabiting the African savannas, the most numerous are the blue wildebeest, belonging to the subfamily of cow antelope. Oryx. The appearance of the wildebeest is so peculiar that you recognize it at first sight: a short dense body on thin legs, a heavy head covered with a mane and decorated with sharp horns, a fluffy, almost horse-like tail. Near herds of wildebeest, you can always find herds of African horses - zebras.

Also characteristic of the savannah, but less numerous are the Thomson's gazelle, which can be recognized from a distance by its black, constantly twitching tail, and the larger and lighter Grant's gazelle. Gazelles are the most graceful and fast antelope of the savannah. Blue wildebeest, zebras and gazelles form the main core of herbivores. They are joined, sometimes in large numbers, by red, gazelle-like impalas, huge heavy elands, outwardly ungainly, but exceptionally swift-footed Congoni, with a narrow long muzzle and steeply curved S-shaped horns. In some places there are many grayish-brown long-horned waterbucks, relatives of the kongoni - swamps, which can be recognized by purple-black spots on the shoulders and thighs, marsh goats - medium-sized slender antelopes with beautiful lyre-shaped horns.

Rare antelopes, which even in the reserves can be found only occasionally, include oryxes, whose long straight horns resemble a sword, mighty horse antelopes and inhabitants of the shrub savanna - kudu. The kudu horns twisted into a gentle spiral are rightfully considered the most beautiful. One of the most typical animals of the African savannah is the giraffe. Once numerous, giraffes became one of the first victims of the white colonists: roofs for wagons were made from their huge skins. Now giraffes are everywhere under protection, but their numbers are small. The largest land animal African elephant.

Especially large are the elephants that live in the savannas - the so-called steppe elephants. They differ from forest ones in wider ears and powerful tusks. By the beginning of our century, the number of elephants had declined so much that there was a danger of their complete extinction. Thanks to the protection introduced everywhere and the creation of reserves, there are now even more elephants in Africa than there were a hundred years ago. They mainly live in reserves and, forced to feed in a limited area, quickly destroy the vegetation. The fate of the black and white rhinoceroses was even more fearful. Their horns, which are valued four times more than ivory, have long been a coveted prey for poachers.

Reserves have helped to preserve these animals. Warthog African buffalo. Black rhinoceros and lapwing. There are many predators in the African savannas. Among them, the first place undoubtedly belongs to the lion. Lions usually live in groups - prides, which include both adult males and females, and growing youth. Responsibilities between members of the pride are distributed very clearly: lighter and more mobile lionesses provide food for the pride, and the territory is guarded by large and strong males. The prey of lions is zebras, wildebeest, kongoni, but on occasion lions willingly eat smaller animals and even carrion.

As experiments have shown, lions are easy to lure if you play a tape recording of the roll call of hyenas. By the way, only recently it has become reliably known that hyenas often attack people and are very dangerous. Cheetah. Secretary bird feeding lion chick. Of the other predators of the savannah, the leopard and cheetah should be mentioned. These outwardly somewhat similar, but completely different in lifestyle, large cats have now become quite rare. The main prey of the cheetah is gazelles, while the leopard is a more versatile hunter: in addition to small antelopes, it successfully hunts African wild pigs - warthogs and especially baboons.

When almost all leopards were exterminated in Africa, baboons and warthogs, having multiplied, became a real disaster for crops. Leopards had to be taken under guard. Hyena with cubs. The African savannas are unusually rich in birds. Only in the savannah lives the largest of modern birds- African ostrich. Trees are often completely hung with nests of weavers of many species, which, outside the breeding season, wander in flocks of many thousands in search of food and often completely destroy the crop of millet and wheat. In the shrub savanna, the relatives of our chickens are especially striking - guinea fowl, numerous species of turtle doves, rollers, bee-eaters.

The picture of the animal world of the African savannah will be incomplete if termites are not mentioned. These insects are represented in Africa by dozens of species. They are one of the main consumers of plant residues. Termite buildings, which each species has its own special shape, are the most characteristic detail of the savannah landscape. The fauna of the savannah has been developing for a long time as a single independent whole. Therefore, the degree of adaptation of the entire complex of animals to each other and each individual species to specific conditions is very high.

Such adaptations include, first of all, a strict division according to the method of feeding and the composition of the main feed. The vegetation cover of the savannah can only feed a huge number of animals because some species use grass, others use young shoots of shrubs, others use bark, and others use buds and buds. Moreover, the same escapes different types animals are taken from different heights. Elephants and giraffes, for example, feed at the height of the tree crown, the giraffe gazelle and the large kudu reach the shoots located one and a half to two meters from the ground, and the black rhinoceros, as a rule, breaks the shoots near the ground.

The same division is observed in purely herbivorous animals: what the wildebeest likes does not attract the zebra at all, and the zebra, in turn, nibbles grass with pleasure, past which the gazelles pass indifferently. African ostriches. The second thing that makes the savanna highly productive is the great mobility of animals. Wild ungulates are almost constantly on the move, they never overgraze the way livestock do. Regular migrations, i.e., movements, of herbivorous animals of the African savanna, covering hundreds of kilometers, allow the vegetation to fully recover in a relatively short time.

Not surprisingly, in recent years, the idea has arisen and strengthened that the rational, scientifically based exploitation of wild ungulates promises greater prospects than traditional pastoralism, primitive and unproductive. Now these questions are being intensively developed in a number of African countries. Australia is the only continent where marsupials have survived. In the photo: a marsupial koala bear. The fauna of the African savannah is of great cultural and aesthetic importance. Untouched corners with pristine rich fauna literally attract hundreds of thousands of tourists. Each African reserve is a source of joy for many, many people.

Birds

With the first rains in the savanna, nesting birds begin. There are many weavers in the savannas. In the dry season, they look like nondescript sparrows and fly in flocks. But as soon as the rains begin, the flocks break up and the males put on a bright wedding dress. Widespread weavers of the genus Air1es1es flaunt red-black or yellow-black plumage.

In the male orange weaver ( Europesles orix) orange-red plumage, black crown and abdomen, brown wings. When he flaunts in front of the female, it seems that the little ball lightning swings on a stem. Having ruffled his red feathers, he becomes twice as large. From time to time the cavalier takes off briefly, chirping his song. Usually weavers nest in tall grass or near wetlands, and they can be seen almost a kilometer away. Each male jealously guards his territory, letting in only a few females, who lay their eggs in small oval nests among the grass.

Yellow-black or red-black long-tailed weavers of the genus Colius passer, often referred to as widows, prefer the drier savannah. They also have a male flaunting on tall stalks of grass or on bushes, attracting females to their territory. And its long tail feathers play a role in aerial play, especially developed in some East African species.

Although West Africa is poorer than East Africa in species from the genera Air1es1es and, Colius passer however, during the rainy season, the tall-grass savannah of West Africa is literally teeming with these birds. The mating games of all weavers are somewhat reminiscent of the mating of some American troupials, in particular the red-winged one. This is one example of the appearance of similar features in groups that are far from each other.

Other notable birds of the savannah include brilliant starlings with dark blue and purple plumage, rollers with bluish and dark blue plumage and a characteristic hoarse call, orange and black hoopoes with a large crest, and finally hornbills (genus Current). Turtle doves and small pigeons are numerous, whose pleasant voices greet the dawn and are heard in the midday heat. There are fewer chickens in the savannas, and devastating fires are to blame.

Harmattan reaches the southern savannas in waves, interspersed with periods of wet weather that end in a storm. And each new wave of Harmattan brings with it new wave migrants, including such dissimilar birds as the white-headed kingfisher ( Haciun leucocephalus), gray toko ( Currentus nasutus) and bee-eater ( Aerops albicollis). Among other guests, we also see various birds of prey, nightjars, rollers and others. The reason for the migrations of some of these birds is not well understood; for example, the white-headed kingfisher, which feeds on insects and fish, can find food in the savanna at any time of the year, and in East Africa the same kingfisher constantly lives along rivers. And in the savannahs described, it nests in burrows in dry thickets scorched by fires or along river banks, leaving this habitat with the onset of rains.

The yellow-billed toko (Tockus flavirostris), which lives in the savannahs of Africa, belongs to the hornbills, one of the most interesting families of the Coraciiformes order. Hornbills are notable for their huge beaks, often with an additional protrusion in the form of a comb or horn (Toko does not have such a protrusion). Massive at first glance, the beak is actually very light, as it consists of spongy bone tissue. Hornbills nest in hollows, and the male, in order to protect the female and offspring from enemies, bricks up the entrance to the hollow with clay, leaving only a tiny hole through which he feeds the female and chicks. The female at this time sheds and becomes very fat, which is why it is considered a delicacy among local residents. Although hornbills feed primarily on fruits, they are omnivores. There are also scavengers among them, like the African horned raven.

African black kite ( Milvus migrans parasitus) and red-tailed buzzard Whiteo auguralis) in the dry season fly south to the savannas, and after breeding they return to the north. Two other predators, hawk buzzard ( Vitastus rufepennis) and a very small fork-tailed kite resembling a tern ( Сhelictinia riocourii), on the contrary, breed during the rainy season in the bushy semi-desert in the north, and fly away to the savannas in the dry season. White-necked bee-eaters also migrate in large flocks through the savannah to winter in the forests in the south. So these savannahs simultaneously receive winter migratory birds from the Palearctic regions, migratory birds that nest during the dry season, and migratory birds that do not breed during the dry season.

Some of these West African migrations form a sort of tidal movement between the northern semi-arid scrublands and savannahs, and some birds cross the equator. rain stork ( Sphenorynchus abdimii), which does not like to restrict itself in food, breeds during the rainy season in the savannas of the north of the Republic of Guinea and the south of the Sudanese transitional zone. In the villages where he nests, the inhabitants greet him as a harbinger of rain. When the breeding season ends, the stork heads south, crossing the East African grasslands during the rains in October - November. When the weather is dry in the north and it rains in the south, it crosses the wet grasslands from Tanzania to the Transvaal. Rain storks used to accompany locust swarms, but they are just as eager to feed on grasshoppers and frogs. When tropical rains come to an end in the south, storks, as the rains begin in East Africa in March - April, head north again. In April, just before the start of the main rainy season, they reach their breeding grounds. Thus, this bird spends its whole life in the savannah or in grasslands in wet weather, providing it with abundant food.

The pennant nightjar (Semeiophorus vexillarius) migrates in the opposite direction. It breeds during the rainy season in the southern tropics, between September and February, then heads north and appears in the northern tropics when it rains there. This bird also spends most of its life in wet savannahs during the rainy seasons. And unlike most land-nesting nightjars, they lay their eggs in rainy weather.

At the mating season, this nightjar has two long white "pennants" due to the growth of the inner pair of primary flight feathers. As it flies, it looks like two white ribbons are trailing behind it. Even more amazing is the nightjar's wedding dress. Macrodipteryx longipennis. He has the same inner pair of flight feathers extended into a flexible twig with a fan at the end, resembling a tennis racket, and during mating games it seems that these "racquets" themselves hover over the bird. This nightjar is also migratory, but during the dry season it breeds in the southern part of its range.

In any regular migration, there must be a starting factor that gives impetus to the whole process, and an end factor, in other words, the goal achieved by the migration.

The reason for the flight of birds from the northern countries the globe called a number of factors, such as: air temperature, abundance of food, different daylight hours in different times of the year. Intratropical migrations are often tried to be explained by an unconvincing reference to local fluctuations in food resources.

However, many intratropical and transequatorial migrations are too regular and too long to be satisfied with this explanation.

A rain stork in the Transvaal cannot know that when there is little food in its winter quarters, there is plenty of it in the Sudan. There must be some motive for the migrations made by the rain stork or the fork-tailed kite. And since neither the amount of food, nor the length of daylight (which hardly fluctuates in tropical latitudes) give us an exhaustive explanation, it seems that in fact the impetus for intratropical migrations is a sudden or abrupt change in the weather in the savannahs.

The small inhabitants of the savannas are innumerable. Birds are very widely represented on the plains, ranging from the largest - ostriches, large and small bustards, plovers, grouse, and ending with larks, skates and other granivorous birds. Among the birds there are also predators. Of these, the secretary bird is the most characteristic. It resembles an eagle, with the only difference that it lives on the ground and is the only bird of prey that hunts, walking around the grassy expanses. Of the other raptors, buzzards are common here ( Whiteo rufofuscus), black-winged kite ( E1anus caeruleus), buffoon eagle ( Terathopius ecaudatus). African kestrel ( Falco rupicoloides), short-eared owl ( Asio capensis).

The African marabou (Leptoptilos crumeniferus), which lives in the hot regions of Africa, although it belongs to storks, differs from them in its huge massive beak as wide as the head at the base. Like many other scavengers, the marabou's head and neck are unfeathered and covered in sparse down. The head of the marabou is reddish, the neck is blue. On the neck there is an unattractive pinkish fleshy pouch on which the marabou rests its beak. At the same time, the marabou is not without some elegance: its bare, warty neck is surrounded by a small collar of white fluffy feathers, and at the base of the tail there are several curly thin feathers that used to decorate hats. It seeks out prey like a vulture, soaring at high altitude. A powerful beak allows the marabou to tear the strong skin of a buffalo. A marabou throws a piece of food into the air, then catches and swallows. Often visits garbage dumps where they eat all sorts of garbage. They nest in large colonies along the banks of water bodies, often together with pelicans. Large nests are arranged on trees or rocks.

The secretary bird (Sagittarius serpentarius) is the only species of the secretary family in the order of birds of prey. This is a tall, sometimes more than a meter, long-legged bird that lives in the African savannas south of the Sahara. The secretary got its name from the bunch of feathers on its head, which usually hangs like a feather behind the ear of a scribe, and when the bird is excited, it rises up. Most of the time the secretary spends walking on the ground and looking for prey: lizards, snakes, small animals, locusts. The secretary kills large prey with kicks and beaks. The claws of the secretary, unlike other birds of prey, are blunt and wide, adapted for running, and not for grasping prey. Secretaries spend the night sitting in trees, where they also make their nests.

In winter, the plains are teeming with harriers, kestrels and eagles that have flown in from Europe. Four or five species of vultures, which almost never kill their own prey, although they feed exclusively on meat, easily find their livelihood here. Of these, African vultures are the most numerous ( Sups africanus) and Rüppel's sips ( Cyrs rueppellii). Both of them nest in colonies, one in trees, the other on rocky cliffs, both looking for carrion, often giving away the location of large predators such as lions.

African ostriches (Struthio camelus massaicus) widespread on grassy plains. Three males show off in front of the female, waving their wings. The erect tail of the male in the center speaks of his aggressive intentions.

The feathered fauna is magnificent, especially during the dry season, when many birds nest on the vast sandbanks. Here you can see the Nile wader next to the spurred lobed lapwings ( Sarciophorus tectus and Afribyx senegallus) and a tiny white-breasted oystercatcher ( Leucopolius marginatus). There are also African cutwaters ( Rynchops flavirostris), bizarre, tern-like birds whose lower beak is much longer than the upper and is adapted to catching tiny fish from the surface of still backwaters. True terns - white-winged tern ( Chlidonias leucoptera), gull-nosed ( Gelochlidon nilotica) and small ( Sterna albifrons) - fly over the water, sometimes accompanied by a klush ( Larus fuscus). Most terns are migratory birds, but lesser terns nest on sandbars. Storks, ibis, jacans, ducks and geese are found in the backwaters and floodplain swamps of the river plains. The most attractive of all the inhabitants of the sandbars is the gray tirkushka ( Galachrusia cinerea). Light as windblown leaves, these feathered elves feed primarily on insects. When a person approaches the nests on the shallows, the bird, protecting its offspring, diverts attention to itself: it drags its wing, pretends to be wounded. Yes, and the eggs laid in the pits in the sand, you will not immediately notice thanks to the sand-colored specks.

Another collar shirt ( Caachrysia pischalis) is dark in color and easy to spot on the sand; therefore, it prefers to nest on rocky islets or on rocky rifts of rivers, where its plumage merges with the general background. The color of the eggs of the collared tirkushka is also matched by dark stones. There is also a third, larger, meadow tirkushka ( Glareola pratincola boweni), which rests and nests on mud flats, almost blending into their dark background.

If bee-eaters are masters of disguise, then bee-eaters immediately catch the eye. On any of the local rivers, you will certainly notice flocks of bee-eaters. The three most common species of African bee-eaters are pink ( Merops malimbicus), red ( Merops nubicus) and red-necked ( Melittophagus bullocki). The migratory bee-eater also winters here ( Merops apiaster) and the bee-eater is widespread ( Melittophagus pusillus), which is kept in pairs.

Red and red-necked bee-eaters nest in burrows dug by them in steep banks. A colony of five thousand pairs of bee-eaters is a bright, colorful spot, visible for many kilometers. Pink bee-eaters differ from the first two in that they nest in inclined burrows on flat sandbars. It happens that the whole shallow is dotted with burrows. Bee-eaters chasing insects are a common sight on the local rivers. They are often accompanied by many European and other swallows. There are six or seven species of swallows and swifts, and one of them, the gray-tailed swallow ( Hirundo griseopyga), nests in inclined burrows on flat shallows.

Flamingos (Phoenicopterus ruber) are found throughout much of Africa. The name of these birds comes from the Latin word flama - flame. Indeed, a flock of flamingos taking off, sparkling in the sun with hundreds of scarlet wings, is an unforgettable sight, and birds walking along the shallow water resemble flowers of a pink lotus. Flamingo wing coverts are bright red, flight feathers are black, and all steel feathers shimmer with all shades of pink. The red color of flamingo feathers is given by the pigment of the carotenoid group astaxanthin, which enters the bird's body along with food - mainly brine shrimp. With a lack of carotenoids in food, the pink color of the flamingo turns pale and disappears. Although the birds can swim, they rarely need to do so, as their long legs allow them to walk through shallow water with ease. Leading in the water with its curved beak, equipped with a filtering apparatus, flamingos seek out various bottom plants, as well as crustaceans and insects. In ancient times, flamingo meat was considered a delicacy and they were mercilessly exterminated. So, at the feasts of the Roman emperors, dishes from flamingo languages \u200b\u200bare served. Fortunately, now hunting for them is practically stopped and the extinction of flamingos, most likely, does not threaten.

African vultures (Pseudogyps africanus) are carrion birds of the subfamily of true vultures, or Old World vultures. These are the most numerous of the birds of prey. They live in the savannas in the east, north and south of Africa. Large, (body length up to 80 cm, weight 5-7 kg), dark brown birds with a non-feathered head and neck and a long powerful beak (an adaptation for eating carrion). Feathers around the neck form a "collar". In the savannah, vultures act as natural orderlies, feeding exclusively on carrion. To neutralize putrefactive bacteria, vultures have developed a high acidity of gastric juice. After the meal, the vultures tend to bathe and then dry their feathers while sitting on the trees. They fly long distances in search of food, hovering at high altitudes, using sharp eyesight and a keen sense of smell.

Lake Victoria and other lakes in the zone abound with islets on which nest colonies of fish-eating birds. This includes three types of cormorants ( Phalacrocorax carbo, P.africanus and R.lugubris), darter ( Anhinga rufa) and various herons, from giant (Ardea goliath) to a very small green-backed ( Butorides striatus). In some colonies, up to ten species of herons can be counted. Perhaps the most numerous is the Egyptian heron ( Bubulcus ibis) and black-headed heron ( Ardea melanocephala). Both of them have moved away from a purely aquatic lifestyle and also feed on land, which, of course, greatly expands their habitats. Both herons feed on insects; black-headed, in addition, catches small rodents.

The sacred ibis also nests here ( Threskiornis aethiopicus) and beak ( ibis ibis). Another inhabitant of these places is the razin stork ( Anastomus lamelligerus); its amazing tweezer-like beak is adapted for grasping snails and freshwater mollusks that this bird feeds on. Pink-backed pelicans ( pecanus rufescens) usually nest alone, but sometimes you can see a marabou among them. For some reason, both of these birds prefer to place their nests in large trees away from water, and pelicans have to bring food to their chicks every day from afar. Perhaps such colonies are located in places where there used to be a lake or bay rich in food.

The colonies of fish-eating birds in the depths of the mainland make the same impression as bird colonies on the seashore - they amaze with an abundance of birds and vibrant life.

One of them was located on thorny acacias, and when the heron chicks began to crawl out of the nest, they often fell and ran into long spikes. Only a few nests had more than one chick. On another island, Nile monitors and a large python climbed trees and devoured almost all the chicks and eggs. They were helped by a hippopotamus, which came ashore at night and, breaking through the thickets, shook the chicks out of the nests. Chicks that fell into the water became the prey of catfish or small crocodiles. Despite all this, herons and storks are alive to this day and there are a lot of them on all rivers and lakes. It appears that successful breeding is not essential for the survival of these bird species.

Of the several unusual birds in the area, the shoebill is the most impressive ( Baaleniceps rex). It inhabits the papyrus swamps from Södd to Lakes Kivu and Victoria, but is rather rare and difficult to see everywhere. The shoebill has dark gray plumage and light eyes with a "wise" look. The huge, swollen beak resembles an overturned boat; the edges of the beak are sharp - apparently, this helps it to grab and kill the frogs and fish that it feeds on. The shoebill nests in swamps, and no one has studied it closely.

Probably the closest relative of the hammerhead shoebill ( Scorus umbretta) is a small brown bird, also with a boat-shaped beak. Hammerheads inhabit rivers and swamps, and can also be found near streams in dry areas. tropical Africa, but there are especially many of them in the Nile basin.

These amazing birds build huge nests, quite unlike the nests of storks - vaulted structures of branches and silt, with an inlet facing the water. The central room, smeared inside with silt, is about a meter across. It takes about a month for the hammerhead to build a nest, and it is very interesting to watch him work. Having built something like a bowl of twigs and stems, he builds it up with a cap of branches. And immediately arranges the inlet. From above, he covers the entire structure by almost half a meter with reeds, twigs and grass. When the length of the inlet and the nesting chamber together are about two meters, the bird, completing the construction, smears them inside with silt. The finished structure can support the weight of a person.

The only chamber of this huge nest is safely isolated from the sun, and when the hammerhead incubates its eggs, it maintains a constant temperature, approximately equal to the body temperature of the bird. Snakes and small four-legged predators rarely manage to get inside the nest, but the barn owl ( Tuto albbut) often invades the abode of the hammerhead and expels the owner.

Despite the complex construction of hammerhead dwellings, they do not appear to breed frequently and successfully.

Fanimals

On the plains, the main role belongs to the lion, cheetah, hyena, hyena dog and, to a lesser extent, the leopard. But the lion is the king of beasts. The big-maned lion, such as can be seen in the Ngorongoro Crater, in the Serengeti and Mara plains, is indeed an excellent animal. True, I am convinced that he is inferior to the Asiatic tiger, that even the largest lion cannot equal the strength of the tiger, but the mane gives the latter a nobility that the tiger lacks. Usually lions gather in family groups, which are called prides. Combining in such groups gives lions a biological advantage - having killed a large animal, they either immediately immediately devour it all together, or some lions guard the carcass while others go to the watering place. The leopard, which hunts alone, has to hide its prey in a tree if it wants to keep it, while the Asian tiger lies close to the killed animal and protects it from other predators, or hides its prey in the dense jungle. If solitary tigers lived in the East African savannah, vultures and hyenas would inevitably take over their prey, because the predator has nowhere to hide it there while he walks to the water.

Lions prey on all the inhabitants of the plains, from gazelles to buffaloes, but most often large antelopes or zebras become their prey. It is believed that lions have a special passion for warthogs and lie in wait for them at their holes for hours.

A pride usually consists of two or three adult animals and at least twenty cubs. A lion eats about five kilograms of meat a day, and a pride of ten lions, in order to be fed, must kill wildebeest every other day. For the most part, lions eat all the edible parts of the wildebeest, and vultures and hyenas feast on the rest, but it happens that lions do not leave anything behind. In Ngorongoro I observed a pride of twenty-three adult lions that killed and ate a whole eland. According to my calculations, each lion had twenty to twenty-five kilograms of meat, which is one sixth of its own weight. After a meal that lasted several hours, the jaded lions lay for four days, hardly moving, and it was seen how their swollen bellies fell off every day. On the fifth day they perked up a little, and on the sixth or seventh they were ready to hunt again.

Such facts make one wonder whether carnivores, in particular lions, have a tangible impact on the number of animals that make up their natural prey, where these animals far outnumber predators.

Apparently, the lion is roaring to notify his other brethren that he has taken his place here, and warns them to stay away. However, perhaps the lion wants to say more than that.

Lions have been known to kill even young elephants, such as males who, having decided to lead an independent lifestyle, have strayed from their native herd. Smaller animals the lion usually finishes off very quickly. It cannot be otherwise: if hunting involved a long struggle, the lions would be seriously injured, would no longer be able to hunt, and would eventually die of starvation. It happens, however, that the lions are never able to finish off their prey. I have seen more than once how they, having brought the male buffalo to exhaustion, gradually devour him alive, just so as not to find himself in front of formidable horns. Lion cubs, just starting to hunt, also sometimes can not immediately cope with prey, but soon quickly master hunting techniques. They consist in the fact that, having knocked down an animal, the lion gnaws its throat or, squeezing it, strangles it. I have seen a lion gnaw through even the thick neck of a buffalo, although it is hard to believe that he can open his mouth so wide.

When hunting, lions and other predators of the plains are guided mainly by sight, although the sense of smell is well developed in lions - they can follow the trail of an animal. The lion does not distinguish colors well enough, and perhaps the zebras that catch the eye of a person are not so noticeable to the lion.

The ground squirrel (Geosciurus inauris) is a mammal of the squirrel family. In appearance, ground squirrels resemble ordinary ones, but live in large colonies in burrows in savannahs, semi-deserts and deserts in northeast and west Africa. Body length 22-26 cm, tail 20-25 cm, fur is sparse, hard, without undercoat, reddish-gray top, a white stripe runs along the sides from the shoulders to the hips. Often, earth squirrels are located next to other colonial animals - predators from the family of viverrid meerkats. Young ground squirrels and meerkats often play together. Earth squirrels often kept in captivity as funny cheerful pets.

Hyenas feed mainly on carrion. Thanks to their powerful jaws, they easily gnaw even the largest bones. But they do not disdain live prey and often kill and devour even old or sick lions. Hyenas that kill newly born cubs and other defenseless plains dwellers, especially wildebeest and gazelles, in fact, can destroy more animals than lions. Often hyenas surround a female wildebeest about to calve, and no matter how hard she tries to drive them away, they grab her cub a few minutes after it is born. But obviously, most often hyenas get food by eating the remains of prey of lions and the corpses of animals that have died from disease and thirst.

Hyenas often devour their victims alive. So do hyena dogs Lucaon pictus). They hunt in packs and pursue the animal until it is completely exhausted. Then they tear him to pieces in a few seconds. When hyena dogs appear in any area, all living things are thrown into confusion. To us, these dogs seem to be cruel animals, but in reality they are interesting creatures deserving more serious study. Hyenas search for carrion by smell at night, and look out for their prey during the day. Hyena dogs hunt only during the day, guided by their eyesight. The same applies to cheetahs - the most intelligent hunters of the plains. They fight off the animal from the herd, moving at amazing speed, quickly catch up with it, knock it to the ground and kill it by gnawing its throat. The lion chooses large animals as its prey, while the cheetah, on the contrary, is intended by nature itself to hunt small herbivores, fast gazelles and impala antelopes. In some areas, cheetahs have become less common, but no one knows why.

Black-backed jackal (Canis mesomelas) is a close relative of wolves and dogs, somewhat inferior to them in size. The resemblance to dogs gave rise to a version about the origin of some breeds of domestic dogs precisely from the jackal. Jackals are widespread and easily adapt to any conditions: they are found in the south of Eurasia, in North Africa, in Russia in the North Caucasus. Jackals live in burrows, lead a nocturnal pack lifestyle. They feed mainly on carrion and small animals. Often jackals accompany lions in the hope of profiting from the remnants of their meal. Among the African peoples, the jackal is a symbol of cunning, as among the inhabitants of Europe - the fox.

Compared to other carnivores, the leopard kills fewer animals on the plains. In addition to him, a whole detachment of small predators prey on the inhabitants of the plains - jackals, big-eared foxes, many birds, snakes like the African viper. The great African viper is able to swallow a whole strider ( Redetes capensis). Nothing is wasted in the savannah: if four-legged carrion lovers do not finish their prey at night, vultures take it during the day. The remains of an animal killed by a lion are eaten up by jackals, hyenas and vultures in a few hours.

On the open dry plains of Africa, in the savannas and deserts, the cheetah (Acionyx jubatus), the fastest animal on Earth, lives. In a swift throw for the victim, he can reach speeds of up to 100 km / h. The cheetah is well adapted to this method of hunting: it has a dry, lean body with a small head and long, slender legs, the claws on which do not retract, as in other cats, and a long strong tail acts as a balancer when running. More recently, cheetahs were very widespread - almost throughout Africa, Western and Central Asia, in South Kazakhstan and the Transcaucasus. Since cheetahs are easily tamed, in Iran and the Mughal Empire they were trained and used for hunting. At present, cheetahs have survived mainly in Africa, only occasionally they are found in Iran and Afghanistan, and from the territory of Central Asia, apparently, they have completely disappeared.

Sudanese waterbuck ( cobs megaceros) is a species that lives very apart, its closest relatives are found more than a thousand kilometers from here, in the swamps in southern Central Africa. The elongated hooves of this goat are widely spaced and hold it well in the bog. Sudanese goats graze in large herds in wetlands where lions and cheetahs cannot reach them. Fleeing from persecution, they go into the water up to the very neck. In the same place where the Sudanese goat lives, there is a white-eared marsh goat ( Kobuis kob leucotis), a subspecies of the common West African marsh goat, which has long been thought to be extirpated. The coloration of old males differs markedly from the coloration of other representatives of the species. Those have red hair, while the white-eared goat is dark brown, and, as the name implies, it has white ears. These goats are found on both banks of the Nile, while the range of the Sudanese waterbuck is limited to the left bank region of the province of Bahr el-Ghazal .

In the local swamps there is one large animal - sitatunga ( Tragelaphus spekei) a representative of the subfamily of markhorn antelopes Tragelaphidae. Sitatunga is related to bushbuck and even lends itself to hybridization with it in captivity. She, like the Sudanese waterbuck, has long, widely spaced hooves, which allow the animal not to fall through the floating carpet and not get stuck in the muddy ground. Sitatunga is a very secretive animal, keeps in the depths of thickets during the day and comes out to feed only at night. Despite the comparative abundance of these anguilopes, very rarely anyone managed to observe them in the wild. The swamp lifestyle allows the sitatunga to avoid predators and use food resources that are not available to other antelopes.

Previously, the swamps, lakes and rivers of this zone were teeming with hippos, and now there are a lot of them in places. The second largest representative of African mammals has adapted well to the aquatic lifestyle, swims freely and easily walks along the bottom of reservoirs. AT clear water one can observe with what amazing ease and grace hippos move. On the ground, they seem clumsy, but can develop unexpectedly high speed. Hippos form various herds: old males sometimes live alone. During the day, hippos, escaping from the sun, usually sit in the water or in mud puddles, exposing only their backs. Swimming under water, they occasionally rise to the surface for air. Their eyes and nostrils, like those of some other aquatic mammals, are raised: the ears are small, and. having risen to the surface, the hippo vigorously shakes them. Fleeing from the hunter, the hippopotamus thus hides in dense river thickets, only occasionally sticking its eyes and nostrils out of the water. Hippos emerge quietly, without snorting. Where they are not disturbed, for example, on the lakes and channels of western Uganda, they are trusting, and herds of hippos resting serenely in shallow water. at the sight of a person, they also do not move from their place.

Hippos perform two important functions that can be defined as construction and chemical. Their large mass and physical strength allow them to clear channels in the thick of marsh vegetation. Going out to graze at night, hippos make wide paths in reeds and papyrus, which facilitate access to water not only for other animals, but also for people. And during the day, abundant hippopotamus excrement fertilizes the water, providing a breeding ground for the development of the smallest blue-green algae, which in turn serve as food for fish, in particular for tilapia similar to bream ( Tilapia). So the viability of fish populations and the unhindered flow of rivers depend on the hippopotamus.

On land, no predator can compete with a hippopotamus. Even lions prefer not to associate with adult animals, but sometimes their cubs are killed. Where hippos are not pursued, the herd can become too large for the habitat, and this entails reduced resistance to disease. Due to the abundance of hippos, the banks of the Casinga Channel in Queen Elizabeth National Park and in some places the banks of the Nile are so overgrazed that erosion processes reach a large scale.

Where the main population remains healthy and not reduced by disease, hippopotamus herds on the Casinga Channel and Lake Albert are regularly thinned out by shooting to negate the damage they cause.

In some parts of the zone under consideration, crocodiles are still numerous: these reptiles were much more numerous until they began to be exterminated in pursuit of skin. Crocodiles are probably the most dangerous predators for humans in all of Africa, but it seems that the degree of danger depends on how well they are provided with their main food. If there are plenty of fish, crocodiles rarely attack large mammals. However, in some places, crocodiles, regardless of the availability of food in the river, grab antelopes that come to drink. And they don't always make a distinction between humans and large animals. So even where crocodiles are considered harmless, swimming would be reckless, since there can be exceptions to every rule.

Crocodiles help maintain the species balance among fish. Where there are none, predators such as catfish Clarias mossambicus. destroy so many other species of fish that this affects the fishery. Even crocodiles benefit by destroying predatory larvae. The complete extermination of crocodiles in some parts of Lake Victoria has caused such damage to fisheries that measures are now being taken to protect them.

Crocodiles lay their eggs in the sand on the shore, and often the females guard their clutches. A lot of eggs are laid, and young crocodiles come out of them fully developed. However, they hatch only if the Nile monitor does not come across the masonry ( Varanus niloticus). This large lizard is found along the banks of almost all the rivers of tropical Africa, and it is especially numerous on some islands of Lake Victoria. The Nile monitor is a predator, but most of all he loves the eggs of birds and chicks, as well as crocodile eggs. He digs up the masonry and swallows one egg after another, and with what he can’t handle himself, the birds will finish eating - the African marabou ( Leptoptilos crumeniferus) and vultures.

The Nile monitor reaches a length of two meters. He runs fast, swims well; escaping from persecution, sometimes it clogs itself into a crack in the rock and rests so firmly against the walls with its long claws that it takes the efforts of several people to pull it out by the tail. Caught in the open, the monitor lizard inflates the body and hisses. The tail with which he beats from side to side is a formidable weapon against small predators. Monitor lizard bites painfully, but if you pick it up by the tail, it becomes helpless.

Hieroglyphic python ( Python sebae)- a huge snake, reaching a length of six meters. It strangles its prey by swallowing it whole. It is commonly believed that the python breaks the bones of the antelope, but this is not true. The jaws of the python are adapted for swallowing large prey: their bones are not fused, but connected by ligaments that stretch to an incredible extent. Python does not attack people; as a rule, he tries to leave if he is disturbed by a person. But the strength and size of this snake is such that its bite is dangerous, so it is better not to tease the python, no matter how clumsy it may seem after a hearty meal.

In the area under consideration, herbivorous animals predominate. Of the leaf-eating elephants, he forced himself to switch to pasture, there are not so many giraffes and black rhinos, and there are not so many typical leaf-eating ones, like kudu or impala. The horse antelopes that inhabit the drier savannah further north are again herbivorous animals, as are the water goat, the bog goat, and the two subspecies of topi— Damaliscus lunatus korrigym and D.I.tiang.

The black antelope (Hippotragus niger) belongs to the genus of horse antelopes, named for their resemblance to horses. These antelopes at the withers reach the height of a horse (height 150 cm, weight - 250 kg). The impression is enhanced by a stiff standing mane around the neck. The coloration of males is coal-black, females are dark chestnut, the pattern on the muzzle, belly and near-tail "mirror" are white. Black antelopes live on plains and hills covered with sparse vegetation, south of the humid forests of the Congo. These are the most courageous African antelopes: in case of danger, they often go on the attack instead of fleeing. Male black antelopes fight with each other, dropping "on their knees". The record length of their saber-curved horns is 82.5 cm. These horns are a coveted hunting trophy, due to which black antelopes are heavily exterminated. The largest subspecies of the black antelope living in Angola is listed in the IUCN Red List.

The giraffe (Giraffa cameliopardalis) is an inhabitant of the African savannas and woodlands south of the Sahara. The seemingly surprising appearance of the giraffe (relatively short body with huge growth- the crown of a giraffe can be at a distance of 5.8 m from the ground) nevertheless it is quite environmentally justified. Giraffes feed on vegetable food, which they get mainly from a height. In addition to a long neck, they are characterized by a tongue 40-45 cm long and the ability to rear up, raising their heads to a height of up to 7 m. Oddly enough, the giraffe has only seven cervical vertebrae, like other mammals. Giraffes have the highest blood pressure among mammals (3 times higher than that of humans). The heart of a giraffe weighs 7-8 kg and is capable of pumping blood into the brain to a height of 3.5 m. To drink water, the giraffe has to spread its front legs wide apart. It seems a mystery how, in this position, the giraffe does not have a brain hemorrhage. It turns out that in the neck vein near the brain, the giraffe has a closing valve system that passes a strictly defined amount of blood to the head.

Once upon a time, white rhinoceros must have been found everywhere from the province of Natal to Sudan. But even then the Nile, and possibly the large African lakes, blocked their way to the east. It is likely that the northern population separated from the southern one when the equatorial forests extended much further latitudinally to the east, as they did during the pluvial epochs corresponding to ice ages in more high latitudes. The northern and southern subspecies differ from each other only in some structural features of the skull and teeth. Outwardly, they are difficult to distinguish. Unlike the leaf-eating black rhino, the white rhino eats grass.

The white rhinoceros is the third largest land mammal in Africa. It is slightly smaller than a hippopotamus and almost twice the weight of its relative - a black rhinoceros, from which, in addition to weight, it is also distinguished by a much more peaceful disposition. Upon closer acquaintance, the white rhinoceros looks so helpless and confused that you even want to caress this huge thick-skinned animal. He sees very poorly and can only rely on his size, horn and sense of smell.

Now there are less than a thousand white rhinos on the left bank of the Nile. The river still remains an insurmountable barrier for them, so several animals were transported to national park Murchison in addition to the large herbivores already there. The conditions for the white rhinoceros in the new place seem to be good, but since it brings offspring only once every two and a half to three years, you cannot quickly create a healthy population, and during this time it can be completely exterminated in its original range. The white rhinoceros, like other rhinos, is hunted for its horn, to which the Orientals attribute stimulating properties, and despite its size, the white rhinoceros is completely helpless against an experienced poacher armed with a rifle or poisoned arrows.

The most numerous herbivore in the south of the region is the Uganda marsh goat ( Kobus kob thomasi). The border of the distribution of this subspecies of the West African marsh goat reaches Kenya, but there it has already been almost exterminated. The Ugandan goat is a magnificent, densely built red antelope that gallops like an impala; the head of males is crowned with beautiful horns.

The buckgoat is distinguished by interesting territorial behavior, the study of which gave rise to the study of the corresponding traits in other antelopes. Males congregate in open areas with low herbage and line up or lie down each in their own area, which has the shape of a steep, and females enter one of these areas where the host is most active, but not necessarily the largest.

These territorial games are an amazing spectacle. There are many "playgrounds" in the Semliki Valley, some of them located near the main roads. I recall the currents of capercaillie and turukhtan; only in birds do males arrange games in front of females. It appears that the territorial behavior of marsh goats is determined by population density; in other words, it can only be observed where there are many antelopes. If there are few of them, each male has more extensive individual areas. Obviously, common "currents" are not necessary for the conservation of the bog goat as a species. However, in some parts of its original range, it is dying out (the reason for this is not yet clear) and no conservation measures help.

One way or another, the local wild fauna, even if it does not present such a spectacular sight as huge herds of various animals of eastern grasslands, makes the Nile basin no less interesting than other areas. And huge expanses of water and swamps create a unique habitat.

In the savannahs we are considering, many animals characteristic of Africa as a whole are widespread. These include the horse antelope ( Hippotragus equinus), the largest representative of the subfamily of saber-horned antelopes. A relative of the oryx and the saber-horned antelope itself, it is also found in East and South Africa. Let's also call an ordinary bubal, or kongoni ( Alcelaphus buselaphus), which has only recently disappeared from North Africa and is represented by various subspecies in savannas and grasslands as far as South Africa. There are a lot of African buffaloes here ( Syncerus caffer), which are a cross between the large black buffalo of East Africa and the Sudan and the small red buffalo of the forests of the Congo Basin in size and color; in the savannahs of West Africa, it is represented by all variants from jet black to bright red. The marsh goat lives near water bodies ( Kobus kob), waterbuck ( Kobus defassa) and common redunka, or reed goat ( Redipsa redipsa). Oribi is found in the open savannah ( Ourebia ourebi), and in thickets along watercourses - bushbuck ( Tragelaphus scriptus). There are also bush duikers ( Silvicapra) and crested, or forest ( Cephalophus).

African, or Kaffir buffalo (Synceros caffer) - one of the largest representatives of the genus of buffaloes of the bovid family, lives in the savannas and woodlands south of the Sahara. The weight of bulls can reach 900-1200 kg, and the height at the withers is 160-180 cm. The body of the buffalo is covered with sparse hair of almost black color. Large horns, especially thick at the base, cover almost the entire forehead of the animal and give it an awesome look. Subject to fits of unreasonable rage, buffaloes are considered one of the most dangerous African animals. Not every lion will dare to attack an adult buffalo. A wounded or disturbed buffalo is especially dangerous, as it has a habit of hiding in the thickets and suddenly attacking the enemy. Buffaloes are herd animals, forming aggregations of 50 to 2,000 head. They graze mainly at night, and rest during the day, preferring to lie in the mud, fleeing from insects.

Elephants in the Sudanese transition zone do not feel very well, but in the savannah they can be found. Of all the leaf-eating animals here, they alone break off trees when they graze; however, elephants are not so numerous here as to cause noticeable damage to tree vegetation over large areas. Rhinos have long disappeared here, except for the eastern edge of the savannah zone. The most majestic and beautiful representative of the savannah fauna in the north is a large eland ( Taurotragus oryx derbianus). It is the largest of all antelopes; the height of the male at the withers is more than one and a half meters, the weight is over 700 kilograms, the horns reach a length of more than a meter. Previously, this antelope, obviously, inhabited all the savannahs from Senegal to Sudan, but recently only a few dozen individuals have remained from the western subspecies, moreover, separated by a huge distance from the range of other subspecies inhabiting northern Cameroon and Sudan in fairly large numbers.

In West Africa, the savannah fauna is poorer in species than in South or East Africa, but it is much more diverse than the North African fauna. If we compare precipitation and food resources, we will see that the savannas of West Africa can feed as many animals per two and a half square kilometers as the same savannas of Rhodesia or Uganda feed them. But in West Africa, the population density is almost universally quite high, and the local population has been engaged in hunting since time immemorial. Over the past half century, hunting has become especially intense, and in connection with the development of new lands, many previously remote areas have been cultivated. And if the protection of the local fauna is not established in the near future, it may disappear altogether.

In the lowlands, sometimes quite swampy, the topi cow antelopes graze ( Damaliscus lunatus corrigym), another subspecies of which is found in the northern savannas of West Africa and in Sudan. Marshes are widespread only in some areas, but they contribute greatly to maintaining pastures in good condition. The fact is that swamps eat dry stems of old grass, which are neglected by wildebeest, zebras and kongoni. In this way, they destroy shriveled plants that might otherwise cause a fire or drown out the young sprouts of edible plants. Marshes are especially widespread in some parts of the rift valley, in the vicinity of Lake Rukwa and Lake Edward, in the humid regions of the Masai and in the Mara region. They live only in open grasslands or in savanna woodlands.

Of the large animals on the plains, the most blue wildebeest ( Sopposhaetes taurinus), then savannah, or Burchell, zebras ( Ediis burchelli) and finally kongoni. At first glance, blue wildebeests seem ugly, ungainly creatures, but they have some charm. They dominate the herds of animals that still adorn the plains of the Serengeti or the Ngorongoro Crater. They graze in rather large herds and, at the slightest alarm, huddle together. On the Serengeti plains, in the Ngorongoro Crater, in the Nairobi National Park, they are much more numerous than other animals of the same size. But in some areas where both congonis and zebras live, blue wildebeest are not found at all. Wildebeest calve in permanent locations, such as near the Ngorongoro Crater and the Loi-ta plains in Kenya. Herds come here along well-trodden paths, which pass on the slopes of the mountains into deep hollows. A few weeks after the herd reaches its destination, the females have calves. The huge space is filled with nursing mothers with cubs; mooing and snuffling are heard from all sides, and the smell of the barnyard is carried far around.

Of the smaller animals in the grasslands, most of all are Grant's and Thomson's gazelles, which feed mainly on grass, although Grant's gazelles also pluck leaves and shoots of trees and bushes. Grant's gazelle is one of the largest and most beautiful gazelles living in these plains. Everything is great in it - both the size, and the height, and the shape of the horns. It is represented by various subspecies in the territory from southern Somalia to the northern regions of Tanzania and Uganda and is also typical of the deserts of northeastern Kenya. However, she prefers the grass-rich plains of Mary, where up to 1500 millimeters of precipitation falls annually. All gazelles move so gracefully that their gracefulness is proverbial, but the palm, of course, belongs to the adult male Grant's gazelle.

Thomson's gazelles, which are much smaller than Grant's gazelles, used to number in the thousands of thousands. Thomson's gazelles are still one of the most numerous inhabitants in many parts of the grasslands, but they cannot stand the desert. Usually they are not found in areas where less than five hundred millimeters of precipitation falls annually, and avoid entering the bush - dense thickets of bushes. But under favorable conditions, for example in the Serengeti, Thomson's gazelles are much more numerous than gazelles of all other species. It is they and the zebra who are blamed for the lack of food for livestock. But this is an obvious exaggeration. After all, twenty Thomson's gazelles, each weighing about twenty kilograms, eat no more grass than one bull.

Close to water sources and overgrown; waterbucks and impala antelopes live on the banks of reservoirs. The waterbuck eats grass as its main food, and impalas in addition to it eat the shoots of shrubs. These two species of antelope, the warthog, the large harmless eland, and the African buffalo, found where it can find reliable shelter, complete the main list of animals grazing in the grasslands. Other species, such as the stenbock antelope and the oribi antelope, do not play any significant role. .

Monkeys usually lead an arboreal lifestyle, but, adapting to the environment of the savannas, they are forced to descend to the ground. The two most common monkeys in the savannah are the extremely numerous anubis baboon ( pario anubis) and common monkey-hussar ( Euthrocebus ratas). Both species forage most of their food on the ground; they climb well, but trees serve them most often as a night quarter or observation post. Along the river valleys, where strips of forest are preserved, the gvirette is common ( Cercopithecus aethiops) which makes only short forays into the steppe. Baboons, as a rule, do not enjoy the favor of farmers, they are very clever at robbing fields. They also say that baboons are dangerous and can even, when there are a lot of them, attack a person, but there is hardly any real reason to believe this. There is no doubt that baboons show a threat by barking loudly, but the imaginary attack on a person is actually usually an expression of curiosity, which is mistakenly perceived as aggression. In fact, they are smart, well-organized and courageous monkeys. They move in herds of ten to over a hundred individuals, often living near rocky hills with hard-to-reach caves and ledges where they can sleep. Early in the morning, the baboons descend from the rocks and begin to search for food. They are mainly herbivores, but they also eat insects. In addition, there are cases when baboons killed newborn antelope calves.

small elite large males subjugates all other members of the herd. The behavior of females, which also have a kind of hierarchy, is largely determined by their reproductive potential. Leader males from the elite approach females during the most favorable period for fertilization.

If the herd is attacked, say, by a dog or a leopard, one or more male leaders repulse the enemy, sometimes dying in a fight with him. Powerful jaws and 7-8 cm fangs make the baboon a formidable opponent, and yet alone he is powerless against the leopard. Seeing their enemy or hearing his growl at night, baboons raise a terrible cry, but although leopards are considered the natural enemy of baboons, they are unlikely to cause great damage to their herds. Big herd baboons do not always retreat before the leopard, but the lion invariably puts them to flight.

Baboon (Papio cynocephalus) is a monkey from the genus of baboons. Baboons live in the savanna forests and savannahs of Central and East Africa. They are also called yellow baboons because of their light yellow coat color, or dog-headed baboons because of their elongated, dog-like muzzle. Although baboons are terrestrial animals, they spend more time in trees than other baboons. These are omnivorous animals with a developed herd hierarchy, headed by a strong male.

Adult male hamadryas (Papio hamadryas) are distinguished by their long, silvery mane (mantle), which is why they are also called frilled baboons. Hamadryas live in the savanna forests and savannas of Africa (Ethiopia, Sudan, Somalia), as well as on the Arabian Peninsula, usually near rocks. In historical times, hamadryas were also found in the Nile Valley. The ancient Egyptians dedicated them to the god of the moon and wisdom, Thoth, and mummified their corpses. Hamadryas live in large herds with a well-defined hierarchy based on relationships of dominance and submission. At the head of the herd is a strong adult male, strictly following the order. The impressive fangs and aggressive disposition make these animals very dangerous. To calm a quarrel, a stern look is often enough for the leader. Extremely curious and sociable, hamadryas use a wide variety of sounds and gestures. They lead a terrestrial lifestyle, omnivores. Hamadryas are often kept in zoos, used as laboratory animals.

Insects

Tsetse flies carry the pathogen, trypanosomes, along with the blood of an infected animal. Having passed into salivary glands flies the subsequent stages of development, trypanosomes then enter the blood of the next victim. Thus, tsetse sucking the blood of a warthog will transmit the disease to a cow or a human after a few days. Wild animals are almost or completely immune to diseases (trypanosomiasis) carried by tsetse, but people and livestock die from them. Some domestic animals have developed partial resistance, but none of them have lived in Africa for as long as wild animals or tsetse itself, so they do not yet have true immunity.

The forms of trypanosomiasis carried by West African tsetse flies are highly virulent and vary from place to place. A cow that has found resistance to a disease in one area may die if it is taken to another, more than three hundred kilometers away. The threat of tsetse can be eliminated by clearing areas of thicket, but sometimes it is necessary to make a complete clearing, and this is usually not profitable, because even where most of the vegetation is reduced and wild animals are either exterminated or driven out, small, residual populations of tsetse often remain. It only takes one infected cow for other flies, such as stingers (Stomoxys), to spread the infection to the entire herd.

Sources

Vladimir Korachantsev. Moscow. Africa is a land of paradoxes (Green series 2001. Around the world).

Tokareva Zinaida. Republic of Côte d'Ivoire: Handbook/AN USSR 1990.

"Angola. 25 years of independence: results and prospects”. Russian-Angolan scientific colloquium (Moscow, November 8-10, 2000) / Ros. Acad. Sciences. Africa Institute. - M., 2002.

African Institute: Handbook / RAS; Rep. ed. Vasiliev A.M.; Comp. and ed. Prokopenko L.Ya. - M., 2002.

Sokolov D.G. Gabonese Republic. Directory. - M., 2002. - 150 p.: map.

Savannahs - a sea of grasses with rare islands of trees with umbrella crowns. The herbaceous vegetation of the savannas consists mainly of tall, dry and hard-skinned grasses, usually growing in tufts; grasses are mixed with turfs of other perennial grasses and shrubs, and in damp places flooded in spring, also various representatives of the sedge family. Shrubs grow in savannahs, sometimes in large thickets, covering an area of many square meters. Savannah trees are usually stunted; the tallest of them are no taller than our fruit trees, to which they are very similar in their crooked stems and branches. Trees and shrubs are sometimes entwined with vines and overgrown with epiphytes. There are few bulbous, tuberous and fleshy plants in the savannas, especially in South America. Lichens, mosses and algae are extremely rare in savannas, only on rocks and trees. Savannahs are characteristic of South America proper, but in other countries one can point out many places that are very similar in the nature of their vegetation to savannahs. Such, for example, are the so-called in the Congo (in Africa); in South Africa, some places are dressed in vegetation, consisting mainly of cereals, other perennial grasses, shrubs and trees, so that such places resemble both the prairies of North America and the savannas of South America; similar places are found in Angola. A distinctive feature of the savannas is the alternation of dry and wet seasons, which take about half a year, replacing each other. The fact is that for the subtropical and tropical latitudes, where the savannahs are located, the change of two different air masses is characteristic - humid equatorial and dry tropical. Monsoon winds, which bring seasonal rains, significantly affect the climate of the savannahs. Since these landscapes are located between the very humid natural zones of the equatorial forests and the very dry zones of the deserts, they are constantly influenced by both. But moisture is not long enough present in the savannahs for multi-tiered forests to grow there, and dry "winter periods" of 2-3 months do not allow the savannah to turn into a harsh desert.

Savannah. Photo by Jeff Gunn.

Living conditions in the savannah are very harsh. The soil contains few nutrients, during dry seasons it dries up, and during wet seasons it becomes waterlogged. In addition, fires often occur there at the end of dry seasons. Plants that have adapted to the conditions of the savannas are very tough. There are thousands of different herbs growing there. But trees, in order to survive, need some specific qualities to protect against drought and fire. For example, the baobab is distinguished by a thick trunk protected from fire, capable of storing water reserves, like a sponge. Its long roots suck up moisture deep underground. Acacia has a wide flat crown, which creates a shadow for the leaves growing below, thereby protecting them from drying out. Many areas of the savannah are now used for pastoralism and the wild forms of life there have completely disappeared. However, in the African savannah there are huge national parks where wild animals still live.

The annual rhythm of the life of the savannas is associated with climatic conditions. During the wet period, the riot of grassy vegetation reaches its maximum - the entire space occupied by savannahs turns into a living carpet of herbs. The picture is violated only by thickly low trees - acacias and baobabs in Africa, fan palm trees of Ravenal in Madagascar, cacti in South America, and in Australia - bottle trees and eucalyptus trees. The soils of the savannas are fertile. During the rainy period, when the equatorial air mass dominates, both the earth and the plants receive enough moisture to feed the numerous animals that live here.

But now the monsoon leaves, and dry tropical air takes its place. Now the time for testing begins. Grasses that have grown to human height are dried up, trampled down by numerous animals moving from place to place in search of water. Grasses and shrubs are very susceptible to fire, which often burns large areas. This is also “helped” by the indigenous people who make a living by hunting: by specially setting fire to the grass, they drive their prey in the direction they need. People did this for many centuries and greatly contributed to the fact that the vegetation of the savannas acquired modern features: an abundance of fire-resistant trees with thick bark, like baobabs, a wide distribution of plants with a powerful root system. The savannah zones are quite extensive, so the vegetation on their southern and northern borders is somewhat different. The savannahs bordering the desert zone in the north of the zone in Africa are rich in drought-resistant short grasses, spurges, aloes and acacias with highly branched roots. To the south, they are replaced by moisture-loving plants, and along the banks of the rivers, gallery forests with evergreen shrubs and lianas, similar to humid equatorial forests, enter the savanna zone. In the rift valley of East Africa, the largest lakes of the mainland are located - Victoria, Nyasa, Rudolf and Albert lakes, Tanganyika. Savannahs on their banks alternate with wetlands where papyrus and reeds grow. The African savannas are home to many famous nature reserves and national parks. One of the most famous is the Serengeti, located in Tanzania. Part of its territory is occupied by the crater highlands - a well-known plateau with ancient craters of extinct volcanoes, one of which, Ngorongoro, has an area of about 800 thousand hectares!

The savannahs of South America are traditionally referred to as "llanos" and "campus". They differ from typical African savannahs by a large number of shrubs and thickets of cacti.

The Australian savannahs and eucalyptus bush forests frame the central desert zone of this continent. Streams (creeks) that dry up in winter can turn into lakes and swamps during the wet summer period.

savanna vegetation

The vegetation of the savannas is adapted to a dry continental climate and to periodic droughts that occur in many savannas for whole months. Cereals and other grasses rarely form creeping shoots, but usually grow in tufts. The leaves of cereals are narrow, dry, hard, hairy or covered with a waxy coating. In grasses and sedges, young leaves remain rolled up into a tube. In trees, the leaves are small, hairy, shiny (“lacquered”) or covered with a waxy coating. The vegetation of the savannas has a pronounced xerophytic character. Many species contain large amounts of essential oils, especially those of the Verbena, Labiaceae, and Myrtle families of South America. The growth of some perennial grasses, semi-shrubs (and shrubs) is especially peculiar, namely, that the main part of them, located in the ground (probably, the stem and roots), grows strongly into an irregular tuberous woody body, from which then numerous, mostly unbranched or weakly branched, offspring. In the dry season, the vegetation of the savannas freezes; savannahs turn yellow, and dried plants are often subjected to fires, due to which the bark of trees is usually scorched. With the onset of rains, the savannahs come to life, covered with fresh greenery and dotted with numerous different flowers. The eucalyptus forests of Australia are quite similar to the "campos cerratos" of the Brazilians; they are also light and so rare (the trees are far apart from each other and do not close in crowns) that it is easy to walk in them and even drive in any direction; the soil in such forests during the rainy season is covered with green thickets, consisting mainly of cereals; in the dry season, the soil is exposed.

The herbaceous vegetation of the savannas consists mainly of tall (up to 1 meter) dry and hard-skinned grasses, usually growing in tufts; grasses are mixed with turfs of other perennial grasses and shrubs, and in damp places flooded in spring, also various representatives of the sedge family (Cyperaceae). Shrubs grow in savannahs, sometimes in large thickets, covering an area of many square meters. Savannah trees are usually stunted; the tallest of them are no taller than our fruit trees, to which they are very similar in their crooked stems and branches. Trees and shrubs are sometimes entwined with vines and overgrown with epiphytes. There are not many bulbous, tuberous and fleshy plants in the savannas, especially in South America. Lichens, mosses and algae are extremely rare in savannas, only on rocks and trees.
The general appearance of the savannahs is different, which depends, on the one hand, on the height of the vegetation cover, and on the other hand, on the relative amount of grasses, other perennial grasses, semi-shrubs, shrubs and trees; for example, the Brazilian shrouds ("campos cerrados") are actually light, rare forests, where you can freely walk and drive in any direction; the soil in such forests is covered with a herbaceous (and semi-shrub) cover half a meter and even 1 meter high. In the savannahs of other countries, trees do not grow at all or are extremely rare and are very short. The grass cover is also sometimes very low, even pressed to the ground.
A special form of savannas is the so-called llanos of Venezuela, where trees are either completely absent or are found in a limited number, with the exception of damp places where palm trees (Mauritia flexuosa, Corypha inermis) and other plants form entire forests (however, these forests do not belong to savannas); in llanos there are sometimes single specimens of Rhopala (trees from the Proteaceae family) and other trees; sometimes the cereals in them form a cover as tall as a man; Compositae, leguminous, labiate, etc. grow between cereals. Many llanos in the rainy season are flooded by the floods of the Orinoco River.
The vegetation of the savannas is generally adapted to a dry continental climate and to periodic droughts, which occur in many savannas for whole months. Cereals and other grasses rarely form creeping shoots, but usually grow in tufts. The leaves of cereals are narrow, dry, hard, hairy or covered with a waxy coating. In grasses and sedges, young leaves remain rolled up into a tube. In trees, the leaves are small, hairy, shiny (“lacquered”) or covered with a waxy coating. The vegetation of the savannas generally has a pronounced xerophytic character. Many species contain large amounts of essential oils, especially those of the Verbena, Labiaceae, and Myrtle families of South America. The growth of some perennial grasses, semi-shrubs (and shrubs) is especially peculiar, namely, that the main part of them, located in the ground (probably, the stem and roots), grows strongly into an irregular tuberous woody body, from which then numerous, mostly unbranched or weakly branched offspring.

Savannah animals

Congoni antelope Among the many species of ungulates that inhabit the African savannas, the most numerous are the blue wildebeest, belonging to the subfamily of cow antelope. Oryx. The appearance of the wildebeest is so peculiar that you recognize it at first sight: a short dense body on thin legs, a heavy head covered with a mane and decorated with sharp horns, a fluffy, almost horse-like tail. Near herds of wildebeest, you can always find herds of African horses - zebras.

Also characteristic of the savannah, but less numerous are the Thomson's gazelle, which can be recognized from a distance by its black, constantly twitching tail, and the larger and lighter Grant's gazelle. Gazelles are the most graceful and fast antelope of the savannah. Giraffes. Blue wildebeest, zebras and gazelles form the main core of herbivores. They are joined, sometimes in large numbers, by red, gazelle-like impalas, huge heavy elands, outwardly ungainly, but exceptionally swift-footed Congoni, with a narrow long muzzle and steeply curved S-shaped horns. In some places there are many grayish-brown long-horned waterbucks, relatives of the kongoni - swamps, which can be recognized by purple-black spots on the shoulders and thighs, marsh goats - medium-sized slender antelopes with beautiful lyre-shaped horns.

Rare antelopes, which even in the reserves can be found only occasionally, include oryxes, whose long straight horns resemble a sword, mighty horse antelopes and inhabitants of the shrub savanna - kudu. The kudu horns twisted into a gentle spiral are rightfully considered the most beautiful. Impala. One of the most typical animals of the African savannah is the giraffe. Once numerous, giraffes became one of the first victims of the white colonists: roofs for wagons were made from their huge skins. Now giraffes are everywhere under protection, but their numbers are small. Zebra. The largest land animal is the African elephant.

Especially large are the elephants that live in the savannas - the so-called steppe elephants. They differ from forest ones in wider ears and powerful tusks. By the beginning of our century, the number of elephants had declined so much that there was a danger of their complete extinction. Thanks to the protection introduced everywhere and the creation of reserves, there are now even more elephants in Africa than there were a hundred years ago. They mainly live in reserves and, forced to feed in a limited area, quickly destroy the vegetation. Blue wildebeest. The fate of the black and white rhinoceroses was even more fearful. Their horns, which are valued four times more than ivory, have long been a coveted prey for poachers.