Savannah animals. Descriptions, names and characteristics of savannah animals. Fauna of the savannah (photo, video). Typical animals of the African savanna steppe: predators, herbivores, omnivores Show the fauna of the savanna

What animals live in the savannah, you will learn from this article.

What animals live in the savanna?

Savannas are wide open spaces, heavily covered with grass, with occasional trees. They are geographically located in Australia, Africa and South America. There is no summer or winter here, but there are 2 seasons - the dry season and the rainy season. These climatic conditions fully determine the fauna that inhabits the savanna.

Herbivores of the savannah

The largest representative of herbivores is the African elephant. The weight of the animal sometimes exceeds the mark of 7.5 tons, and the height of the elephant reaches 4 m. The tallest savannah animal is the giraffe - the animal's height reaches 5.8 m.

List of savannah herbivores:

* Antelopes of such breeds are Sable, Wildebeest, Greater Kudu, Bushbuck and Impala

* Zebras of such breeds are Burchellova, Mountain and Desert zebras

* Rhinoceroses – white and black

* Wild pigs

* Wild horses

Predatory animals of the savannah

Savannah predators inhabit not only the land, but also water spaces. The most massive predatory animal is the hippopotamus, which reaches 3.2 tons and a body length of about 420 cm. The skin of the hippopotamus does not have hair, only the tail and muzzle have a small layer of hair.

In the savannah you can still find the following predatory animals:

• Cheetahs
• Spotted hyenas
• Lviv
• Leopards
• Jackals

The largest representative of the family of predators is spotted hyena. Its body weight is 82 kg, body length is 128 cm, tail length is 33 cm. The hyena's fur is coarse, yellow-gray in color with scattered round black spots.

Savannas occupy almost 40% of the area of ​​the African continent. They are located around evergreen equatorial forests.

In the north with equatorial forests borders the Guinean-Sudanese savannah, which stretches for 5,000 thousand kilometers from the West Banks Atlantic Ocean to the Eastern shores of the Indian Ocean. From the Kenyan Tana River, the savanna extends into the southern parts of Africa to the Zambezi River valley, then, turning west for 2,500 kilometers, it runs all the way to the Atlantic coast.

Animal world

The African savanna is a completely unique phenomenon in terms of the diversity of large animals. At no other point globe you won't find such an abundance of wild animals.

Even at the end of the 19th century, nothing threatened the wild inhabitants of the savannas. But at the beginning of the 20th century, with the arrival of European colonialists who were armed with firearms, the mass shooting of herbivores began. The countless herds that roamed the vast expanses of the savanna of animals began to decline sharply. Their numbers have dropped to a minimum.

Compromise between economic activity humans and a unique diversity of animal life was found. And he was embodied in the creation of savannas on the territory national parks. There are numerous predators here: lions, cheetahs, hyenas, leopards. Herbivores include zebras, blue wildebeests, gazelles, impalas, and huge heavyweight elands. Rare antelopes include oryx and kudu, inhabitants of the bush savannah. A real decoration African savannas are elephants and giraffes.

Vegetable world

The vegetation cover of these places is rich and varied. Savannah is located in the subequatorial zone; there is a rainy season for nine months, which contributes to the intensive growth of a wide variety of plants.

Baobab is typical representative arboreal world. The trunk wood of this tree is saturated with moisture, which allows the Baobab to survive even during severe fires during the dry season. A variety of palm trees, mimosas, acacias, and thorny bushes also grow here.

Introduction

Today, grassy plains occupy a quarter of all land. They have a lot different names: steppes - in Asia, llanos - in the Orinoco basin, veld - in Central Africa, savanna - in the eastern part of the African continent. All these areas are very fertile. Some plants live up to several years, and when they die, they turn into humus. Leguminous plants, vetches, daisies and small flowers hide among the tall grasses.

The name “grass” combines a wide variety of plants. This family is perhaps the largest in the entire plant kingdom; it includes more than ten thousand species. Herbs are the product of long evolution; They are able to survive fires, droughts, and floods, so they only need plenty of sunlight. Their flowers, small and inconspicuous, are collected in small inflorescences at the top of the stem and are pollinated by the wind, without requiring the services of birds, bats or insects.

Savanna is a community of tall grasses and woodlands with low to medium-sized, fire-resistant trees. It is the result of the interaction of two factors, namely soil and precipitation.

The importance of savannas lies in the conservation of rare species of animals and plants. Therefore, the study of African savannas is relevant.

The object of study is African savannas

The subject of the research is the study of the natural features of African savannas.

The purpose of this course work is a comprehensive study of the types of savannas in Africa.

The main objectives of the work are the following:

1.Consider geographical location African savannas.

2.Explore the flora and fauna of savannas.

.Consider the features of different types of African savannas.

.Consider modern environmental problems and ways to solve them in savannas.

Chapter I. general characteristics African savannah

.1 Geographical location and climatic features of African savannas

Savannah is a zonal type of landscape in tropical and subequatorial zones, where the change in wet and dry seasons of the year is clearly expressed, with constant high temperatures ah air (15-32°C). As you move away from the equator, the period of the wet season decreases from 8-9 months to 2-3, and precipitation decreases from 2000 to 250 mm per year. The vigorous development of plants during the rainy season is replaced by droughts of the dry period with slower growth of trees and burning of grass. The result is a characteristic combination of tropical and subtropical drought-resistant xerophytic vegetation. Some plants are able to store moisture in their trunks (baobab, bottle tree). The grasses are dominated by tall grasses up to 3-5 m, among them are sparsely growing shrubs and single trees, the occurrence of which increases towards the equator as the wet season lengthens to open forests.

The vast expanses of these amazing natural communities are located in Africa, although there are savannas in South America, Australia, and India. Savannah is Africa's most widespread and most characteristic landscape. The savannah zone surrounds the central African tropical rainforest with a wide belt. In the north, the Guinean-Sudanese savannas border the tropical forest, stretching in a strip 400-500 km wide for almost 5000 km from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean, interrupted only by the White Nile Valley. From the Tana River, savannas with a belt up to 200 km wide descend south to the Zambezi River valley. Then the savannah belt turns to the west and, sometimes narrowing, sometimes expanding, extends 2500 km from the shores of the Indian Ocean to the Atlantic coast.

The forests in the border zone are gradually thinning out, their composition is becoming poorer, and patches of savannas are appearing among the tracts of continuous forest. Gradually, tropical rainforest is limited only to river valleys, and at watersheds they are replaced by forests that shed their leaves during the dry season, or savannas. The change in vegetation occurs as a result of a shortening of the wet period and the appearance of a dry season, which becomes longer and longer as it moves away from the equator.

The savannah zone from northern Kenya to the sea coast of Angola is the largest plant community on our planet by area, occupying at least 800 thousand km 2. If we add another 250 thousand km2 of the Guinea-Sudanese savanna, it turns out that more than a million square kilometers of the Earth's surface are occupied by a special natural complex - the African savanna.

A distinctive feature of savannas is the alternation of dry and wet seasons, which take about six months, replacing each other. The fact is that subtropical and tropical latitudes, where savannas are located, are characterized by a change in two different air masses - humid equatorial and dry tropical. The monsoon winds, which bring seasonal rains, significantly influence the climate of the savannas. Because these landscapes are located between the very wet natural zones of equatorial forests and the very dry zones of deserts, they are constantly influenced by both. But moisture is not present in savannas long enough for multi-tiered forests to grow there, and dry “winter periods” of 2-3 months do not allow the savanna to turn into a harsh desert.

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

But then the monsoon leaves, and dry tropical air takes its place. Now the testing time begins. Herbs that have grown to human height are dried out and trampled 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. The indigenous people who hunt also “help” this: by deliberately setting the grass on fire, they drive their prey in the direction they need. People did this for many centuries and greatly contributed to the fact that savannah vegetation acquired modern features: an abundance of fire-resistant trees with thick bark, like baobabs, and a wide distribution of plants with a powerful root system.

The dense and tall grass cover provides abundant food for the largest animals, such as elephants, giraffes, rhinoceroses, hippos, zebras, antelopes, which in turn attract large predators such as lions, hyenas and others. Savannahs are home to the most big birds- the ostrich in Africa and the South American condor.

Thus, Savannahs in Africa occupy 40% of the continent. Savannas frame the forests of Equatorial Africa and extend through Sudan, East and South Africa beyond the southern tropics. Depending on the duration of the rainy season and annual precipitation amounts, they are divided into tall grass, typical (dry) and desert savannas.

In savannah zones:

the duration of the rainy period ranges from 8-9 months at the equatorial boundaries of the zones to 2-3 months at the outer boundaries;

The water content of rivers fluctuates sharply; During the rainy season, there is significant solid runoff, slope and plane washout.

parallel to the decrease in annual precipitation, the vegetation cover changes from tall grass savannas and savanna forests on red soils to desertified savannas, xerophilic woodlands and shrubs on brown-red and red-brown soils.

savannah africa climate geographical

1.2 Flora of savannas

An abundance of tall grasses, gilded by the sun, rare trees and shrubs, more or less common depending on the area - this is the savannah that occupies most of sub-Saharan Africa.

The savannah zones are quite extensive, so the vegetation on their southern and northern borders is somewhat different. Savannas bordering the desert zone in the north of the zone in Africa are rich in drought-resistant low grasses, milkweeds, aloe and acacia trees with highly branched roots. To the south they are replaced by moisture-loving plants, and along the banks of rivers gallery forests with evergreen shrubs and vines similar to wet equatorial ones. The rift valley of East Africa contains the largest lakes on the continent - Victoria, Nyasa, Lakes Rudolph and Albert, and Tanganyika. Savannahs on their banks alternate with wetlands where papyrus and reeds grow.

African savannas contain 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 famous plateau with ancient craters of extinct volcanoes, one of which, Ngorongoro, has an area of ​​about 800 thousand hectares.

Savannah vegetation corresponds to the hot climate with long dry periods that prevails in tropical places. That is why savanna is widespread in different parts of the world, including South America and Australia. But it occupies the most extensive territories, of course, in Africa, where it is represented in all its diversity.

The general appearance of savannas varies, 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, subshrubs, shrubs and trees. The grass cover is sometimes very low, even pressed to the ground.

A special form of savannas is the so-called llanos, where trees are either completely absent or found in limited numbers, 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 the llanos there are sometimes single specimens of Rhopala (trees from the family Proteaceae) and other trees; sometimes the grains in them form a cover as tall as a person; Between the cereals grow Compositae, legumes, Lamiaceae, etc. During the rainy season, many llanos are flooded by floods of the Orinoco River.

Savannah vegetation is generally adapted to a dry continental climate and to periodic droughts, which occur in many savannas for months at a time. Cereals and other herbs rarely form creeping shoots, but usually grow in turfs. The leaves of cereals are narrow, dry, hard, hairy or covered with a waxy coating. In cereals and sedges, young leaves remain rolled into a tube. Tree leaves are small, hairy, shiny (“varnished”) or covered with a waxy coating. The vegetation of savannas generally has a pronounced xerophytic character. Many species contain a large number of essential oils, especially species from the Verbenaceae, Lamiaceae and Myrtle families of the flaming continent. The growth of some perennial herbs, semi-shrubs (and shrubs) is especially peculiar, namely in 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. During the dry season, savannah vegetation freezes; savannas turn yellow, and dried out plants are often exposed to fires, as a result of which the bark of trees is usually scorched. With the onset of rains, the savannas come to life, becoming covered with fresh greenery and speckled with numerous different flowers.

In the south, on the border with equatorial tropical forests, a transition zone begins - the forest savanna. There are not very many grasses there; trees grow thickly, but they are small. Then comes the sparsely forested savanna - vast spaces covered with tall grasses, with groves or isolated trees. The baobab tree predominates here, as well as palm, spurge and various types of acacia. Gradually, trees and shrubs become more and more sparse, and grasses, especially giant grasses, become denser.

And finally, near deserts (Sahara, Kalahari), the savannah gives way to a parched steppe, where only tufts of dry grass and low-growing thorny bushes grow.

.3 Savanna fauna

The fauna of the savannah is a unique phenomenon. In no corner of the Earth in human memory has there been such an abundance of large animals as in the African savannas. Back at the beginning of the 20th century. Countless herds of herbivores roamed the vast savannahs, moving from one pasture to another or in search of watering places. They were accompanied by numerous predators - lions, leopards, hyenas, cheetahs. The predators were followed by carrion eaters - vultures, jackals.

The seasonally dry tropical regions of Africa, from light deciduous forests and woodlands to low-growing thorny forests and sparse Sahelian savannah, differ from evergreen forests primarily by the presence of a well-defined dry period unfavorable for animals. This determines the clear seasonal rhythm of most forms, synchronous with the rhythm of moistening and vegetation growth.

During the dry season most of animals stop reproducing. Some groups, mainly invertebrates and amphibians, take refuge in shelters and hibernate during drought. Others stock up on food (ants, rodents), migrate (locusts, butterflies, birds, elephants and ungulates, predatory animals) or concentrate on small areas - survival stations (surroundings of water bodies, drying up riverbeds with nearby groundwater, etc.). P.).

Animals appear in large numbers and build substantial shelters. The most striking are the strong cone-shaped termite mounds, which can be more than 2 m high. The walls of these structures seem to be made of cement or baked clay, and they can hardly be broken through with a crowbar or pickaxe. The above-ground dome protects the numerous chambers and passages located below both from drying out in the hot season and from downpours in humid times. Termite passages reach deep into the aquiferous layers of the soil; during drought, a favorable humidity regime is maintained in the termite mound. Here the soil is enriched with nitrogen and ash plant nutrients. Therefore, trees often regenerate on destroyed and near residential termite mounds. Among vertebrate animals, a number of rodents and even predators build burrows, ground and tree nests. The abundance of bulbs, rhizomes and seeds of grasses and trees allows them to store this food for future use.

The tiered structure of the animal population, characteristic of evergreen forests, in seasonally dry forests, open forests and especially in savannas is somewhat simplified due to a decrease in the proportion of tree forms and an increase in those living on the surface and in the herbaceous layer. However, significant heterogeneity of vegetation caused by a mosaic of tree, shrub and herbaceous phytocenoses causes a corresponding heterogeneity of the animal population. But the latter has a dynamic character. Most animals are alternately associated with one or another plant group. Moreover, movements occur not only on a seasonal scale, but even within a day. They cover not only herds of large animals and flocks of birds, but also small animals: mollusks, insects, amphibians and reptiles.

Savannas, with their enormous food resources, contain many herbivores, especially antelopes, of which there are more than 40 species. Until now, in some places there are herds of the largest wildebeest with a large mane, powerful tail and downward-curved horns; Kudu antelopes with beautiful helical horns, elands, etc. are also common. There are also dwarf antelopes, reaching a length of a little more than half a meter.

Remarkable animals of the African savannahs and semi-deserts, saved from extinction, are giraffes; they are preserved mainly in national parks. The long neck helps them reach and gnaw young shoots and leaves from trees, and the ability to run quickly is the only means of protection from pursuers.

In many areas, especially in the east of the continent and south of the equator, African wild horses zebras. They are hunted mainly for their durable and beautiful skins. In some places, domesticated zebras are replacing horses as they are not susceptible to tsetse fly bites.

African elephants are still preserved - the most remarkable representatives of the fauna of the Ethiopian region. They have long been exterminated for their valuable tusks, and in many areas they have completely disappeared. Elephant hunting is currently banned throughout Africa, but this ban is often violated by ivory poachers. Elephants are now found in the least populated areas mountainous areas, particularly in the Ethiopian Highlands.

In addition, they live in the national parks of Eastern and Southern Africa, where their numbers are even increasing. But still, the existence of the African elephant as a biological species has come under threat in recent decades. real threat, which can only be prevented by active joint activities of national and international organizations. Endangered animals include rhinoceroses, which lived in the eastern and southern parts of the continent. African rhinoceroses have two horns and are represented by two species - black and white rhinoceros. The latter is the largest of the modern species and reaches a length of 4 m. Now it is preserved only in protected areas.

Hippos living along the banks of rivers and lakes in different parts of Africa are much more widespread. These animals, as well as wild pigs, are hunted for their edible meat and also for their skin.

Herbivores serve as food for numerous predators. In the savannas and semi-deserts of Africa there are lions, represented by two varieties: the Barbary, living north of the equator, and the Senegalese, common in the southern part of the continent. Lions prefer open spaces and almost never enter forests. Hyenas, jackals, leopards, cheetahs, caracals, and servals are common. There are several representatives of the civet family. In the lowland and mountain steppes and savannas there are many monkeys belonging to the group of baboons: real Raigo baboons, geladas, mandrills. Among the thin-bodied monkeys, the gverets are typical. Many of their species live only in cool mountain climates, as they cannot tolerate the high temperatures of the lowlands.

Among rodents, mice and several species of squirrels should be noted.

Birds are numerous in the savannas: African ostriches, guinea fowl, marabou, weavers, and the secretary bird, which feeds on snakes, is very interesting. Lapwings, herons, and pelicans nest near ponds.

There are no fewer reptiles than in the northern deserts; they are often represented by the same genera and even species. Many different lizards and snakes, land turtles. Some types of chameleons are also characteristic. There are crocodiles in the rivers.

The high mobility of animals makes the savanna highly productive. Wild ungulates are almost constantly on the move; they never graze pastures the way livestock do. Regular migrations, i.e. movements, of herbivores of the African savannah, covering hundreds of kilometers, allow vegetation to fully recover in a relatively short period of time. It is not surprising that in last years the idea arose and strengthened that reasonable, scientifically based exploitation of wild ungulates promises greater prospects than traditional cattle breeding, which is primitive and unproductive. These issues are now being intensively developed in a number of African countries.

Thus, the fauna of the savannah developed over a long period of time as a single independent whole. Therefore, the degree of adaptation of the entire complex of animals to each other and of each individual species to specific conditions is very high. Such adaptations include, first of all, a strict separation 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, different species of animals take the same shoots from different heights. Elephants and giraffes, for example, feed at the height of the tree crown, the giraffe gazelle and great kudu they reach shoots located one and a half to two meters from the ground, and the black rhinoceros, as a rule, plucks shoots close to 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, happily nibbles the grass, past which gazelles pass indifferently.

Chapter II. Features of African savanna types

.1 Tall grass wet savannas

Tall grass savannas are various combinations of herbaceous vegetation with islands of forest or individual trees. The soils that form under these landscapes are called red or ferrallitic soils of seasonally wet tropical forests and tall grass savannas.

Tall grass savannas are wet. Very tall grasses grow in them, including elephant grass, reaching 3 m in height. Among such savannas, tracts of park forests are scattered, and gallery forests stretch along river beds.

Tall grass savannas occupy a space where the annual precipitation is 800-1200 mm, and the dry season lasts 3-4 months, they have a dense cover of tall grasses (elephant grass up to 5 m), groves and tracts of mixed or deciduous forests on watersheds, gallery evergreens forests of ground moisture in the valleys. They can be called a transition zone from forest vegetation to a typical savanna. Among the continuous cover of tall (up to 2-3 m) cereals, trees (usually deciduous species) rise. The tall grass savanna is characterized by baobabs, acacias, and terminalias. Red lateritic soils are most common here.

There is an opinion that the widespread occurrence of moist tall-grass savannas replacing deciduous evergreen forests is associated with human activity, which burned vegetation during the dry season. The disappearance of the closed tree layer contributed to the emergence of countless herds of ungulates, resulting in the renewal woody vegetation became impossible.

The Sahel savannas and, to a lesser extent, the thorny forests of Somalia and the Kalahari are faunally depleted. Here many of the animals that are close or common to forest animals disappear.

2.2 Typical grass savannas

The zone of grass savanna begins from the border of the gils. Typical (or dry) savannas give way to tall grass savannas in areas where the rainy season lasts no more than 6 months. The grasses in such savannas are still very thick, but not very tall (up to 1 m). Grassy spaces alternate with open forests or individual groups of trees, among which numerous acacias and giant baobabs, or monkey breadfruit trees, are especially typical.

Typical grass savannas are developed in areas with an annual precipitation of 750-1000 mm and a dry period of 3 to 5 months. In typical savannas, the continuous grass cover is no higher than 1 m (species of bearded vulture, themeda, etc.), the typical tree species are palms (fan palms, hyphae), baobabs, acacias, and in East and Southern Africa - milkweeds. Most of the wet and typical savannas are of secondary origin. In Africa north of the equator, savannas extend in a wide strip from Atlantic coast to the Ethiopian Highlands, and to the south of the equator they occupy the north of Angola. The height of wild cereals reaches 1-1.5 m, and they are mainly represented by hyperrhenia and bearded vultures.

A typical grass savanna is a space completely covered with tall grasses, predominantly grasses, with sparsely standing individual trees, shrubs or groups of trees. Most plants are hydrophytic in nature due to the fact that during the rainy season the air humidity in savannas resembles a tropical forest. However, plants of a xerophytic nature also appear that adapt to the transfer of dry triode. Unlike hydrophytes, they have smaller leaves and other adaptations to reduce evaporation.

During the dry period, grasses burn out, some types of trees shed their leaves, although others lose them only shortly before new ones appear; the savannah turns yellow; dried grass is burned annually to fertilize the soil. The harm that these fires cause to vegetation is very great, since it disrupts the normal cycle of winter dormancy 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 trees become covered with leaves. In the grass savanna, the grass cover reaches a height of 2-3 m , and in low places 5 m .

The typical grasses here are: elephant grass, Andropogon species, etc., with long, wide, hairy leaves of a xerophytic appearance. Of the trees, oil palm 8-12 m should be noted heights, pandanus, butter tree, Bauhinia reticulata - evergreen tree with broad leaves. Baobab and various types of doum palm are often found. Along the river valleys, several kilometers wide, gallery forests, reminiscent of gilles, with many palm trees, stretch.

Grass savannas are gradually replaced by acacia ones. They are characterized by a continuous cover of cereals 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 the species: Acacia albida, A. arabica, A. giraffae, etc. In addition to acacias, one of characteristic trees in such savannas there is a baobab, or monkey breadfruit reaching 4 min diameter and 25 m height, containing a significant amount of water in a loose, fleshy trunk.

In the grass savanna, where the rainy season lasts 8-9 months, cereals grow 2-3 m high, and sometimes up to 5 m: elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum), bearded vulture with long hairy leaves, etc. Individual trees rise among the continuous sea of ​​cereals : baobabs (Adansonia digitata), doom palms (Hyphaene thebaica), oil palms.

North of the equator, grass savannas extend to approximately 12°N latitude. In the southern hemisphere, the zone of savannas and woodlands is much wider, especially off the coast of the Indian Ocean, where it extends in some places to the tropics. The difference in moisture conditions in the northern and southern parts of the zone suggests that mesophilic deciduous forests grew in the more humid northern regions, and xerophytic woodlands with a predominance of representatives of the legume family (Brachystegia, Isoberlinia) occupied only the southern regions of their modern distribution. South of the equator, this plant formation is called the miombo woodland. The expansion of its range can be explained by its resistance to fires, high speed renewal. In eastern South Africa, open forests occur in combination with other types of vegetation well south of the tropics.

Under grass savannas and woodlands, special types of soils are formed - red soils under savannas and red-brown soils under forests.

In drier areas, where the rainless period lasts from five to three months, dry, spiny semi-savannahs predominate. For most of the year, trees and shrubs in these areas remain without leaves; low grasses (Aristida, Panicum) often do not form a continuous cover; Among the cereals grow low up to 4 m heights, thorny trees (types of Acacia, Terminalia, etc.)

This community is also called the steppe by many researchers. This term is widespread in the literature on African vegetation, but does not fully correspond to the understanding of our term “steppe”.

Dry thorny semi-savannas are replaced with distance from acacia savannas by the so-called thorny bush savanna. It reaches 18-19° south. sh., occupying most of the Kalahari.

2.3 Desertified savannas

In areas with a wet period lasting 2-3 months. typical savannas turn into thickets of thorny bushes and tough grasses with sparse turf. As the wet period decreases to 3-5 months. and a general decrease in precipitation, the grass cover becomes more sparse and stunted; the composition of tree species is dominated by various acacias, low, with a peculiar flat crown. Such plant communities, called desert savannas, form a relatively narrow strip in the northern hemisphere to the north of typical savannas. This strip expands from west to east in the direction of decreasing annual precipitation.

In deserted savannas, scanty rainfall is rare and occurs only for 2-3 months. The strip of these savannas, stretching from the coast of Mauritania to Somalia, expands to the east of the African continent, also this natural area covers the Kalahari Basin. The vegetation here is represented by turf grasses, as well as thorny bushes and low leafless trees. In typical and desertified savannas, tropical red-brown soils are developed, not rich in humus, but with thick alluvial horizons. In places where basic rocks and lava sheets develop - in the southeast of Sudan, Mozambique, Tanzania and the Shari River basin - large areas are occupied by black tropical soils related to chernozems.

In such conditions, instead of a continuous herbaceous cover, only turf grasses and leafless and thorny shrubs are preserved. The belt of semi-deserts or deserted savannas on the Sudanese plains is called the “Sahel,” which in Arabic means “coast” or “edge.” This is truly the outskirts of green Africa, beyond which the Sahara begins.

In the east of the continent, deserted savannas occupy especially large areas, covering the Somali peninsula and extending to the equator and to the south of it.

Desertified savannas are typical for areas with an annual precipitation of no more than 500 mm and a dry period lasting from 5 to 8 months. Desert savannas have a sparse grass cover, and thickets of thorny bushes (mainly acacias) are widespread in them.

Despite a number common features, savannas are characterized by significant diversity, which makes their division very difficult. There is a point of view that most of the savannas of Africa arose on the site of destroyed forests and only desertified savannas can be considered natural.

Chapter III. Environmental problems of African savannas

.1 The role of humans in the savanna ecosystem

Among the terrestrial biocenoses, the steppes produce the greatest biomass of animals per unit surface, and therefore have long attracted humans, who lived primarily by hunting. This upright primate was created by nature itself to live in the steppes, and it was here, in the struggle for food and shelter, escaping from enemies, that it turned into an intelligent creature. However, as man improved, he increasingly complicated his weapons and invented new methods of hunting herbivores and predatory animals, which played a fatal role for many of them.

Whether ancient man was already involved in the extermination of a number of animal species is a controversial issue. In this regard, there are various, very conflicting opinions. Some scientists believe that many inhabitants of the African savannahs and steppes were destroyed already in the Early Paleolithic, characterized by the use of hand axes (the so-called Acheulean culture). According to supporters of this opinion, the same thing happened in North America, when about 40 thousand years ago man first entered this continent through the Bering Land Bridge. At the end ice age 26 African and 35 North American genera disappeared from the face of the Earth large mammals.

Supporters of the opposite point of view insist that ancient man, with his still extremely imperfect weapons, cannot be considered guilty of their destruction. Mammals that went extinct at the end of the Ice Age were most likely victims global changes climate that affected the vegetation that served them as food or their prey.

It was established that when, much later, well-armed people appeared in Madagascar, whose fauna knew no natural enemies, this led to very sad consequences. In Madagascar, in a relatively short period of time, no less than 14 species of large lemurs, 4 species of giant ostriches were exterminated, and, in all likelihood, the same fate befell the aardvark and the pygmy hippopotamus.

However, only when the white man used firearms, this led to a catastrophic imbalance between him and the world of large animals. To date, in all corners of the Earth, humans have almost completely destroyed the large animals of the savannas, turning the once endless grassy plains into arable land or pastures for livestock.

The destruction of the original vegetation led to the disappearance of many small and medium-sized animals. Only in national parks and other protected areas are the remains of a unique community of living beings preserved, which was formed over millions of years. The man-hunter destroyed his steppe ancestral home and many animals generated by the amazing ecosystem of the savannah.

Just a hundred years ago, Africa was imagined as a continent of untouched nature. However, even then nature was significantly changed by human economic activity. At the beginning of the 21st century, environmental problems that arose during the predatory campaigns of European colonialists became aggravated.

Evergreen forests have been cut down for redwood for centuries. They were also uprooted and burned for fields and pastures. Burning plants during slash-and-burn farming leads to disruption of natural vegetation cover and soil deterioration. Its rapid depletion forced the abandonment of cultivated lands within 2-3 years. Now almost 70% of Africa's forests have been destroyed, and their remnants continue to disappear rapidly. In place of forests, plantations of cocoa, oil palm, bananas, and peanuts arose. Deforestation leads to many negative consequences: an increase in the number of floods, increased droughts, landslides, and a decrease in soil fertility. Reproduction of forests occurs very slowly.

The nature of savannas has also changed significantly. Huge areas there are plowed and occupied by pastures. Due to overgrazing by cattle, sheep and camels, cutting down trees and shrubs, savannas are increasingly turning into deserts. Particularly negative consequences of such land use are in the north, where the savannah turns into a desert. The expansion of desert areas is called desertification.

Aerospace images taken from artificial Earth satellites have convincingly shown that in the last half century alone the Sahara has moved south by 200 km. and increased its area by thousands of square kilometers.

Forest shelterbelts are planted on the border with deserts, livestock grazing is limited in areas with sparse vegetation cover, and arid areas are irrigated. Big changes natural complexes occurred as a result of mining.

The long colonial past and irrational use of natural resources have led to a serious imbalance between the components of natural complexes. Therefore, in many African countries, problems of environmental protection have become acute.

3.2 Economic role of savannas

Savannahs play a very important role in economic life person. The climatic and soil conditions of savannas are favorable for tropical agriculture. Currently, large areas of savannas have been cleared and plowed. Significant areas are plowed here, grains, cotton, peanuts, jute, sugar cane and others are grown. In drier areas, livestock farming is developed. Some tree species growing in savannas are used by humans for their own purposes. Thus, teak wood produces hard, valuable wood that does not rot in water.

At present, we can say with complete confidence that a significant part of the wet and dry savannas of Africa arose as a result of human activity in the place of mixed forests, almost disappeared deciduous forests and woodlands. Since man learned to make fire, he began to use it for hunting, and later for clearing thickets for arable land and pastures. For thousands of years, farmers and herders set fire to the savannah before the rainy season to fertilize the soil with ashes. Arable lands, which were rapidly losing fertility, were abandoned after several years of use, and new areas were prepared for crops. In pasture areas, vegetation suffered not only from burning, but also from trampling, especially if the number of livestock exceeded the feeding “capacity” of pasture lands. Most of the trees were destroyed by fire. Mainly only a few tree species that have adapted to fires have survived, the so-called “fire lovers”, the trunk of which is protected by thick bark, charred only on the surface.

Plants that reproduce by root shoots or have seeds with a thick shell have also been preserved. Fire lovers include thick-trunked giant baobabs, the shea tree, or shea tree, called the butter tree, since its fruits produce edible oil, etc.

The fencing of private property, the construction of roads, steppe fires, the opening of large areas and the expansion of cattle breeding have 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, buffalos, zebras, wildebeest and other antelopes were shot from rifles and machine guns from cars. Many animals also died from plague brought with cattle.

3.3 Conservation actions to protect African savannas

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. Every African reserve is a source of joy for many, many people. Nowadays you can drive hundreds of kilometers across savannahs and not see a single large animal.

Once virgin forests are being developed by humans and are gradually uprooted to clear land, or cut down for the purpose of harvesting building materials. Further, the soil, which is no longer strengthened by the roots of plants and is not protected by the crowns of trees, is washed away during tropical rains, and the natural landscape, rich in the recent past, becomes impoverished, transforming into a barren desert.

Often the interests of Africa's wild inhabitants conflict with the needs of local people, which makes wildlife conservation in Africa more difficult. In addition, environmental protection measures also require large expenses, and not every country’s government can afford to finance them.

However, some African states are concerned about the state of wild flora and fauna on their territory, so increased attention is paid to nature conservation. Wild animals are protected in the national parks of such countries, water bodies are subject to cleaning for fish breeding, and comprehensive measures are being taken to restore forests.

The governments of the newly independent states of Africa, which threw off the yoke of colonialism, strengthened and expanded the network of such reserves - the last refuges of wild animals. Only there can a person still admire the view of the primeval savannah. For this purpose, environmental protection areas are established - nature reserves and national parks. They protect the components of natural complexes (plants, animals, rocks etc.) and research work is underway. Nature reserves have a strict environmental regime, and national parks can be visited by tourists who are required to comply with established rules.

In Africa, protected areas occupy large areas. They are located in various natural complexes - in the mountains, on plains, in moist evergreen forests, savannas, deserts, and on volcanoes. Worldwide are the Serengeti, Kruger, and Rwenzori national parks.

Serengeti National Park- One of the largest and most famous in the world. Translated from the Maasai language, its name means vast plain. The park is located in East Africa. It is called an African paradise for animals. Its vastness is home to herds of thousands of large ungulates ( various types antelopes, zebras) and predators (lions, cheetahs, hyenas), which have been preserved intact as they have been since time immemorial.

Kruger National Park- One of the oldest on the mainland. It originated in southern Africa back in 1898. In this region of the savannah, buffalos, elephants, rhinoceroses, lions, leopards, cheetahs, giraffes, zebras, various antelopes, and among birds - marabou and secretary bird reign supreme. There are thousands of individuals of each animal species. Due to their diversity, the park is often compared to Noah's Ark.

Ngorongoro National Parklocated in the crater of an extinct volcano. Buffaloes, rhinoceroses, antelopes, giraffes, hippos, and various birds are protected there.

U Rwenzori Parkprotected apes chimpanzees and gorillas.

The creation of nature reserves and national parks contributes to the conservation of rare plants, unique wildlife and individual natural complexes of Africa. Thanks to protective measures, the number of many species of animals that were on the verge of extinction has been restored. The world's largest diversity of species makes Africa a paradise for ecotourists.

Conclusion

The savannas of Africa are the Africa of our imagination. Vast expanses of land, extraordinarily amazing fauna, the greatest herds on the planet. And everything seems to exist here outside of time.

Savannah is incredibly changeable and fickle. A dense forest may appear in this place in a few years. But there may be another development of events: all the trees will disappear, only grass will remain.

Life on the savannah is subject to the weather, which is very capricious here. Every year there is a dry, hot season. But no year is like the previous one.

The importance of savannas is enormous. This is, first of all, the biological value of the community as a habitat for many species of animals and plants, including those that are endangered. Also, savannas, after the forest zone, provide the highest yield of plant products.

It's sad, but Africa's wildlife was once even more diverse. Currently, unfortunately, some species of wild flora and fauna have been completely destroyed, and some more are under threat of extermination.

A great misfortune for the inhabitants of the African savannas are hunters who wipe out game species of animals to the ground. But no less of a problem was the advance of civilization into the original places. natural habitat representatives wild fauna Africa. Traditional migration routes of wild animals are blocked by roads, and new human settlements are appearing in places of wild thickets.

Now humanity understands the need to protect nature on Earth - one can hope that in the near future the wildlife of Africa will not only not suffer even more from human activity, but will also, to some extent, restore its impoverished animal and plant world, returning it to its former splendor and diversity .

List of sources

1. Boris Znachnov Radio Africa / Around the World No. 4, 2008 P. 84-92

Boris Zhukov Eden at the bottom of the cauldron / Around the World No. 11, 2010 P. 96-101

Vlasova T.V. Physiography continents and oceans: tutorial for students higher ped. textbook establishments / T.V. Vlasova, M.A. Arshinova, T.A. Kovaleva. - M.: Publishing center "Academy", 2007. - 487 p.

Vladimir Korachantsev. Moscow. Armada-press, Africa - the land of paradoxes (Green series 2001. Around the world), 2001-413p.

Gusarov V.I. Exacerbation of environmental problems in Africa / Krajnavstvo. Geography. Tourism No. 29-32, 2007 P. 7-11

Kryazhimskaya N.B. Planet Earth. Equatorial and subequatorial belt M., 2001 - 368 p.

Mikhailov N.I. Physiographic zoning. M.: Moscow State University Publishing House, 1985.

Nikolay Balandinsky Pearl of Tanzania /Around the World No. 12, 2008 p118-129

Yurkivsky V. M. Edges of the world: Dovid. - K.: Libid, 1999.

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The middle region with an abundance of large animals. This is how the savannah can be described. This biotope is located between wet and dry deserts. The transition from one to another gave the world grassy steppes with single trees or groups of them. Umbrella crowns are typical.

Life in savannas is characterized by seasonality. There is a rainy season and a dry season. The latter causes some animals to hibernate or burrow underground. This is the time when the savannah seems to calm down.

During the rainy season, under the influence of the tropics, the steppes, on the contrary, abound with manifestations of life and flourish. It is during the wet period that fauna representatives reproduce.

Animals of the African savannah

There are savannas on three continents. What unites biotopes is their location, openness of space, seasonality of climate and precipitation. Animals and plants separate savannas in different parts of the globe.

In the steppes of Africa there are many palm trees, mimosas, acacias and baobabs. Interspersed with tall grasses, they occupy almost half the area of ​​the mainland. Such space determines the richest fauna of the African savannas.

African buffalo

The largest recorded individual weighed 2 kilos less than a ton. The standard weight of an ungulate is 800 kilograms. The African one reaches 2 meters in length. Unlike its Indian counterpart, the animal was never domesticated. Therefore, African individuals are distinguished by their ferocity.

According to statistics, buffaloes killed more hunters than other animals of the continent's steppes. Like elephants, African ungulates remember offenders. Buffaloes attack them even after years, remembering that people once attempted to kill them.

The strength of a buffalo is 4 times greater than that of a bull. The fact was established when checking the draft power of animals. It becomes clear how easily a buffalo can kill a person. In 2012, for example, an African ungulate killed Owain Lewis. He owned a safari in Zambezia. For three days the man tracked the wounded animal. Having outwitted the man, the buffalo ambushed him.

In a herd of buffaloes, the males rule and protect the cubs and females.

Greater Kudu

This horned antelope 2 meters long and 300 kilograms in weight. The height of the animal is 150 centimeters. Among the antelopes, this is one of the largest. Externally, it is distinguished by spiral-shaped horns. Brown coat with transverse white stripes on the sides and light markings extending from the center of the muzzle to the eyes.

Despite their size, kudu are excellent jumpers, over 3-meter obstacles. However, the African antelope is not always able to escape from hunters and predators. Having rushed at a speed of several hundred meters, the kudu always stops to look around. This delay is enough for a fatal shot or bite.

Elephant

These are the largest animals among land animals. African ones are also the most aggressive. There is also an Indian subspecies. He, like the eastern buffalo, is domesticated. African elephants are not in the service of humans; they are larger than others, weighing 10 or even 12 tons.

There are 2 subspecies of elephants. One is forest. The second is called savannah, according to the place of residence. Steppe individuals are larger and have triangular-shaped ears. In forest elephants it is rounded.

The trunk of elephants replaces both the nose and the hand to put food in the mouth

Giraffe

Once upon a time, Africans made shields from giraffe skin, the animal’s cover was so durable and dense. Veterinarians in zoos are unable to give injections to sick animals. That's why we created special apparatus, literally shooting syringes. This is the only way to penetrate the skin of giraffes, and not everywhere. They aim at the chest. Here the cover is the thinnest and most delicate.

Standard height is 4.5 meters. The animal's stride is slightly shorter. It weighs approximately 800 kilograms. Wherein African savannah animals reach speeds of up to 50 kilometers per hour.

Grant's Gazelle

The height itself is 75-90 centimeters. The horns of the animal are extended to 80 centimeters. The outgrowths are lyre-shaped and have a ring structure.

Grant's gazelle has learned to survive without water for weeks. The ungulate is content with crumbs of moisture from plants. Therefore, during times of drought, gazelles do not rush after zebras, wildebeests, and buffaloes. Grant's individuals remain in abandoned, desert lands. This protects the gazelles, because predators also follow the bulk of the ungulates to watering holes.

Rhinoceros

These animals living in the savannah, are the second largest land creatures, second only to elephants. The height of rhinoceroses is 2 meters, and the length is 5. The weight of the animals is 4 tons.

The African has 2 growths on the nose. The back one is underdeveloped, more like a bump. The anterior horn is complete. The outgrowths are used in fights for females. The rest of the time, rhinoceroses are peaceful. Animals feed exclusively on grass.

African ostrich

The largest among flightless birds, it weighs about 150 kilograms. One ostrich egg is equal in size to 25 chicken eggs of the first category.

In Africa they move in 3-meter steps. Birds cannot take off not only because of their weight. The animals have shortened wings, and the plumage resembles down, loose. This can't be resisted air flows.

Zebra

To insects, zebra stripes resemble bees or some kind of poisonous hornet. That’s why you won’t see blood-sucking horses near African horses. The midge is afraid to approach zebras.

If a predator catches up, the horse runs away along a zigzag path. It looks like the movements of a hare. doesn't so much confuse his tracks as make it difficult to catch himself. Throwing itself at its prey, the predator flops to the ground. The zebra is on the sidelines. The predator wastes time rearranging itself.

Animal life in the savannah gregarious. The leader is always the male. He moves ahead of the herd, bending his head to the ground.

Oryx

Otherwise called oryx. A large antelope gains weight up to 260 kilograms. At the same time, the height of the animal at the withers is 130-150 centimeters. Horns add height. They are longer than other antelopes, stretching out to a meter or more. Most oryx subspecies have straight and smooth horns. The oryx has a kind of mane on its neck. Long hair grows from the middle of the tail. This makes antelopes look like horses.

Blue wildebeest

Having eaten them in some pastures, they rush to others. At this time, the necessary herbs are restored first. Therefore, wildebeest lead a nomadic lifestyle.

The blue ungulate is named due to the color of its coat. In fact the color is grey. However, it casts blue. Wildebeest calves are rather beige, painted in warm colors.

The wildebeest is capable of dashing at speeds of 60 km/h

Leopard

These African savannah animals similar to cheetahs, but larger and not capable of record speeds. It is especially difficult for sick and old leopards. They are the ones who become cannibals. Man for wild beast- easy prey. It’s simply not possible to catch a friend.

Young and healthy are not only capable of killing a frisky and cautious animal. Wild cats produce carcasses that are twice their weight. Leopards manage to drag this mass into the trees. There the meat is out of reach of jackals and others who want to profit from someone else's prey.

Warthog

Being a pig, it dies without grass. It forms the basis of the animal's diet. Therefore, the first individuals brought to zoos died. The pets were fed the same as ordinary wild boars and domestic pigs.

When the warthogs' diet was revised to include at least 50% plants, the animals began to feel good and live on average 8 years longer than in the wild.

Sharp fangs protrude from the warthog's mouth. Their standard length is 30 centimeters. Sometimes the fangs are twice as large. Having such a weapon, warthogs protect themselves from predators, but do not use it in fights with relatives. This indicates an organized herd and a caring attitude towards other pigs.

a lion

Among the cats, he is the tallest and most massive. The weight of some individuals reaches 400 kilograms. Part of the weight is the mane. The length of the hair in it reaches 45 centimeters. At the same time, the mane can be dark and light. Owners of the latter, who are genetically less wealthy in male terms, have a more difficult time leaving offspring. However, dark-maned individuals do not tolerate heat well. That's why natural selection“leaned” towards the middle peasants.

Some lions lead a solitary life. However, most cats unite in prides. There are always several females in them. There is usually only one male in a pride. Sometimes there are families with several males.

Lions' vision is many times sharper than that of humans.

Horned Raven

Refers to the hoopoe-like hornbills. There is a protrusion above the beak. It, like the plumage, is black. However, the African Crow has bare skin around its eyes and neck. It is wrinkled, red, and forms like a goiter.

Unlike many hornbills, the African crow is a predator. The bird hunts snakes, mice, and lizards, throwing them into the air and killing them with a blow from its powerful, long beak. Together with it, the length of the raven's body is approximately a meter. The bird weighs about 5 kilograms.

Crocodile

Among crocodiles, the African is the largest. About savannah animals they are said to reach 9 meters in length, weighing about 2 tons. However, the officially registered record is only 640 centimeters and 1,500 kilograms. Only males can weigh this much. Females of the species are about a third smaller.

African skin is equipped with receptors that determine the composition of water, pressure, and temperature changes. Poachers are interested in the quality of the reptile's cover. The skin of African individuals is famous for its density, relief, and durability.

Guinea fowl

It has taken root on many continents, but is native to Africa. Externally, the bird is similar to a turkey. It is believed that the latter originated from the guinea fowl. Hence the conclusion: African poultry also has dietary and tasty meat.

Like the turkey, the guinea fowl is a large galliform. The bird weighs 1.5-2 kilograms. In the savannas of Africa, guinea fowl are found. In general, there are 7 types of them.

Hyena

They live in packs. Alone, animals are cowardly, but together with their relatives they even go after lions, taking their prey. The leader leads the hyenas into battle. He holds his tail higher than other relatives. The most powerless hyenas almost drag their tails along the ground.

The leader of a pack of hyenas is usually the female. The inhabitants of the savannas have a matriarchy. Females are rightfully respected, since among predators they are recognized as the best mothers. Hyenas feed their cubs milk for almost 2 years. Females are the first to let their children approach the prey, and only then do they allow males to approach.

Animals of the American Savannas

American savannas are primarily grasslands. There are also a lot of cacti there. This is understandable, because steppe expanses are typical only for the southern continent. Savannahs are usually called pampas here. Querbacho grows in them. This tree is famous for the density and strength of the wood.

Jaguar

In America, he is the largest cat. The length of the animal reaches 190 centimeters. The average one weighs about 100 kilograms.

Among cats, the jaguar is the only one that cannot roar. This applies to all 9 species of predator. Some of them live in Northern. Other - savannah animals South America .

Maned wolf

More like a long-legged fox. The animal is red, with a sharp muzzle. Genetically, the species is transitional. Accordingly, the “link” between wolves and foxes is a relic that has managed to survive millions of years. You can meet a maned wolf only in the pampas.

The height of the mane at the withers is about 90 centimeters. The predator weighs approximately 20 kilograms. Transitional features can be seen literally in the eyes. With a seemingly fox-like face, they are wolf-like. Red cheaters have vertical pupils, while wolves have normal pupils.

Puma

Can "argue" with a jaguar, what animals are in the savannah America is the fastest. picks up speed at 70 kilometers per hour. Representatives of the species are born spotted, like jaguars. However, as they mature, cougars “lose” their markings.

When hunting, cougars overtake victims in 82% of cases. Therefore, when faced with a one-color cat, herbivores shake like an aspen leaf, even though there are no aspens in the savannas of America.

Armadillo

It has a scaly shell, which makes it stand out among other mammals. Among them, the armadillo is considered inferior. Accordingly, the animal roamed the planet millions of years ago. Scientists believe that it was not only their shell that helped armadillos survive, but also their pickiness in food. Savannah inhabitants feed on worms, ants, termites, snakes, and plants.

When hunting snakes, they press them to the ground, cutting them with the sharp edges of the plates of their shell. By the way, it folds into a ball. This is how armadillos escape from offenders.

Vizcacha

This is a large South American rodent. The length of the animal reaches 60 centimeters. Vizcacha weighs 6-7 kilograms. The animal looks like a large mouse-rat hybrid. The color is gray with a white belly. There are also light marks on the rodent's cheeks.

South American rodents live in families of 2-3 dozen individuals. They hide from predators in holes. The passages are distinguished by wide “doors” of about a meter.

Ocelot

This is a small spotted cat. The animal is no more than a meter long and weighs 10-18 kilograms. Most ocelots live in the southern tropics. However, some individuals settle in the pampas, finding areas with trees.

Like other cats of the South American savannas, they lead a solitary lifestyle. Cats meet with their relatives only for mating.

Nandu

It is called the American ostrich. However, the overseas bird belongs to the order of rheas. All birds entering it call “nan-doo” during mating. Hence the name of the animal.

Wildlife of the savannah Rheas are decorated in groups of about 30 individuals. Males in families are responsible for building the nest and caring for the chicks. The “houses” are being built in different “corners” of the savannah.

Females move from nest to nest, mating with all the males in turn. The ladies also lay their eggs in different “houses”. One nest can accumulate up to 8 dozen capsules from different females.

Tuco-tuco

“Tuko-tuko” is the sound made by the animal. His small eyes are “turned up” almost onto his forehead, and his small rodent ears are buried in the fur. Otherwise, the tuco-tuco is similar to a bush rat.

The tuco-tuco is somewhat more massive than the bush rat and has a shorter neck. The animals do not exceed 11 centimeters in length and weigh up to 700 grams.

Animals of the Australian savannah

Australian savannas are typically characterized by open woodlands of eucalyptus trees. Casuarinas, acacias and bottle trees also grow in the steppes of the continent. The latter have expanded, like blood vessels, trunks. Plants store moisture in them.

Dozens of relict animals roam among the greenery. They make up 90% of Australia's fauna. The continent was the first to separate from the single continent of antiquity Gondwana, isolating the bizarre animals.

Ostrich Emu

Like the South American rhea, it is not related to ostriches, although it is similar in appearance to Africans. In addition, the flightless birds of Africa are aggressive and shy. They are curious, friendly, and easy to tame. Therefore, they prefer to breed Australian birds on ostrich farms. So it’s difficult to buy a real ostrich egg.

Slightly smaller than the African ostrich, the emu takes 270cm strides. The speed developed by the Australians is 55 kilometers per hour.

Dragon of Komodo Island

The large reptile was discovered in the 20th century. Having learned about a new species of lizards, the Chinese, obsessed with the cult of the dragon, flocked to Komodo. They mistook the new animals for fire-breathing animals, and began killing them to make magical potions from the bones, blood, and sinews of dragons.

The farmers who settled the land were also destroyed from Komodo Island. Large reptiles attacked domestic goats and pigs. However, in the 21st century, dragons are protected and are listed in the International Red Book.

Wombat

It looks like a small bear cub, but in fact it is a marsupial. A wombat is one meter long and can weigh up to 45 kilos. With such a mass and compactness, the bear cub looks short-legged, however, it is capable of reaching a speed of 40 kilometers per hour.

It not only runs briskly, but also digs holes in which it lives. The underground passages and halls are spacious and can easily accommodate an adult.

Ant-eater

Long and narrow muzzle. Even longer tongue. Lack of teeth. This is how the anteater adapted to extract termites. The animal also has a long and prehensile tail. With its help, the anteater climbs trees. The tail serves as a rudder and grabs branches when jumping.

It clings to the bark with long, powerful claws. Even jaguars are afraid of them. When a 2-meter ant stands on its hind legs, spreading its clawed front legs, the predators prefer to retreat.

The Australian anteater is called. There are subspecies living in Central America. Regardless of the continent where anteaters live, their body temperature is 32 degrees. Among mammals this is the most low rate.

Echidna

Outwardly it resembles a cross between a hedgehog and a porcupine. However, the echidna has no teeth and the animal’s mouth is very small. But, tropical savannah animals stand out with a long tongue, competing with the anteater for food, that is, termites.

The lower mammal is monotreme, that is, the reproductive tract and intestines are connected. This is the structure of some of the first mammals on Earth. have existed for 180 million years.

Lizard Moloch

The reptile's appearance is Martian. The lizard is painted in yellow-brick tones, covered in pointed growths. The reptile's eyes are like stone. Meanwhile, these are not guests from Mars, but Savannah animals.

The indigenous Australians nicknamed Moloch the Horned Devils. In the old days, human sacrifices were made to the strange creature. In modern times, the lizard itself can become the victim. It is included in the Red Book.

The lizard reaches 25 centimeters in length. In moments of danger, the lizard appears larger because it can swell. If someone tries to attack Moloch, turn the reptile over, its spines cling to the soil surrounding the plants.

Dingo dog

He is not a native of Australia, although he is associated with it. The animal is considered a descendant of feral dogs brought to the continent by people from South-East Asia. They arrived in Australia about 45 thousand years ago.

The dogs that escaped from the Asians chose not to seek shelter from humans anymore. There was not a single large placental predator in the vastness of the continent. Foreign dogs have filled this niche.

They are usually about 60 centimeters tall and weigh up to 19 kilograms. Body type wild dog resembles a hound. At the same time, males are larger and denser than females.

Opossum

On its tail there is a tassel of wool, like a jerboa. The pompom's hairs are black, like the rest of the marsupial's cover. Having been born as such, it is better to be a female. Males die after the first mating. Females don't kill partners like praying mantises, that's just the way they are life cycle male individuals.

Savannah animals of Australia climb trees standing in the steppes. Tenacious claws help. At higher elevations, the rat catches birds, lizards, and insects. Sometimes the marsupial encroaches on small mammals, fortunately, its size allows it.

Marsupial mole

Deprived of eyes and ears. The incisors protrude from the mouth. The paws have long, spade-shaped claws. This is what a marsupial mole looks like at first glance. In fact, the animal has eyes, but they are tiny, hidden in the fur.

Marsupial moles are miniature, not exceeding 20 centimeters in length. However, the dense body of underground savannah inhabitants can weigh about one and a half kilograms.

Kangaroo

The choice of a partner in a population is somewhat similar to human interests. Female kangaroos choose beefier males. That's why males take poses similar to those shown by bodybuilders at performances. By flexing their muscles, kangaroos assert themselves and look for their chosen ones.

Although it is a symbol of Australia, some individuals end up on the tables of its residents. As a rule, the indigenous population of the continent eats marsupial meat. Colonizers disdain kangaroo meat. But tourists are showing interest in it. How can you visit Australia and not try an exotic dish?

Australia's savannas are the greenest. The most dry steppes are the steppes of Africa. The middle option is the American savanna. Because of anthropogenic factors their areas are shrinking, depriving many animals of places to live. In Africa, for example, many animals live within national parks and are almost exterminated outside their “fences.”

Savannah is an unusual world that lives by its own unique rules and laws. Everything about it is amazing: winter here 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 weeks. Such sudden changes in weather affect nature, subjecting it to their own rules. During such periods, the landscape picture is completely different, and even animals behave differently.

Sometimes here you can see landscapes of amazing beauty, and at other times they become dull and despairing. These contrasts have always attracted people and forced them to return to the unknown world of the savannah in order to again see amazing animals and plants that can only be met 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 food. Savannah – perfect place for predators, since short grass makes it possible to look around and see where prey is hiding. However, there is also interesting representatives fauna that feed on plant foods.

The largest animal

It is in the savanna that the largest land animal on Earth lives - the African savannah elephant. Its average weight is 5 tons, but in 1956 the largest representative weighing 11 tons was recorded! The face has huge curved tusks that are formed from the front teeth. Their weight is on average 100 kg. Tusks have always been highly valued by humans, so the elephant population 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 fauna kingdom. They take great care of sick or injured family members, help them eat and support them if their weak relatives find it difficult to stand.

There is an opinion that only elephants from the entire animal world have a burial ritual. 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 “Among the Animals of Africa” by the famous zoologist and naturalist writer Bernard Grzimek.

Another trait that is similar to humans is the love of sex. These African inhabitants are having sex all year round, although they are only capable of fertilization for a few days during the rainy season. Males show courtship so that the female will be favorable to them. Pregnancy in elephants is the longest on earth and lasts almost 2 years - 22 months. Elephants sense the approach of labor and can speed it up by eating a special type of grass that causes contractions.

Cubs are born blind, so they funnyly hold on to their mother's tail so as not to get lost.

Creeping fear

The black mamba is colored brownish-gray, which makes you wonder about 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 the snake rushes at a person to bite him. This amazing representative of reptiles reaches impressive sizes, growing up to 4 meters, and it can move at a speed exceeding the running speed of many people - 20 km/h.

Snakes with such strong poison, there is not much in the world: after a bite, a black mamba crawls some distance and waits for the poison to paralyze the victim. Previously, after being bitten by 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 administered within the first minutes after the bite, otherwise it will not save the bitten person.

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

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

Master of the Savannah

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

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

These cats sleep a surprising amount: 20 hours a day, just like domestic cats. IN good mood They can purr and bask in the sun, but when the lion gets angry, he lets out a roar that can be heard for 10 km in the area. Only with the help of a roar can he scare away animals that pose a danger to females or cubs.

Most often, lions hunt at night. This is caused by very acute night vision, which is almost as good as daylight vision. Since most prey do not have universal vision, the chances of success in a lion's night hunt are greatly increased.

Highest

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

Female giraffes often set up kindergartens, in which several adults look after the babies, while the rest go for food at this time. After the first ones have eaten, they replace the hungry “nannies”.

Giraffes sleep only 60 minutes a day, sometimes they can do this while standing. Despite such a short duration of sleep, the spotted inhabitants of the savannah never yawn: they are the only animals that cannot do this.

Proud bird

The ostrich is not able to fly due to 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 suddenly change the direction of running, without slowing down or slowing down at all.

It is this species that holds the record for egg size: a one and a half kilogram ostrich egg could easily fit 2.5 dozen chicken eggs. The male builds the nest, and all the females he has fertilized lay eggs there. During the day they sit on the nest, and at night the caring dad takes over the baton 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 babies. At this time, children 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.

Quirky set

Cape aardvark appearance It’s puzzling: it feels like body parts of different animals were combined in it. Its body resembles an anteater, its long ears resemble a rabbit, its snout is borrowed from piglets, and its tail comes from a kangaroo.

This amazing animal has such an original shape of its nose 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 tasty insects. Termites are not scary for the aardvark, since 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 size of the aardvark is quite impressive: it can grow up to 2.3 m. If it is driven natural enemy, then displays enormous strength with which it can slash an enemy with its claws, fights with its hind legs and tumbles forward very quickly.

Amazing plants

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

Millennial Elders

One of the main symbols of the savanna are amazing trees - baobabs. Establishing the age of the oldest specimens is difficult because these trees do not have annual rings, so it is not possible to establish their age using the standard method. According to general estimates by scientists, baobabs can live about a thousand years, but radiocarbon dating gives different figures - 4500 years. During their lifetime, they manage to grow a huge spreading crown. In the winter they shed their leaves, but not from the cold, but from drought.

The baobab blossom 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 pollinated not 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 new roots and take root again. Often, trees that have been knocked down by a storm survive in this way and remain in a lying position forever.

Bleeding Dragons

Previously, 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, reminiscent of blood. The name “dracaena” itself translates as “female dragon”.

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

The dragon tree grows very slowly, but over the decades some representatives reach enormous sizes. The 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, so at the foot of the dracaenas, people and animals tired of the heat often find rest in complete shade. plant from natural environment habitat has spread throughout the world as a houseplant because it is very low maintenance but looks attractive and exotic.

Savannah is filled primarily with pampas grasses. But among them there are absolutely amazing representatives. This includes elephant grass. This plant can reach a height of 3 meters, creating barriers for large animals, and for small ones acting as a reliable shelter and home.

Elephant grass grows near shallow bodies of water. When they dry out, it can die en masse from lack of moisture, blocking the flow of streams or small rivers. It is also afraid of cool weather, so the ground part dies off immediately with the first cold snap. Root system This cereal penetrates very far into the soil, putting down roots to a depth of 4.5 meters, where it draws water. After droughts, with the arrival 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 to prepare some dishes, using it in construction and growing it as an ornamental plant.

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