Savannahs are called spaces like steppes. The difference from the latter is the presence of areas overgrown with stunted trees and shrubs. In ordinary steppes, there are only single trunks and grasses near the ground.
In savannahs, there are a lot of tall grasses, stretching about a meter. The biotope is typical for tropical countries with an elevated landscape and an arid climate. The following animals adapted to these conditions:
Antelope kudu
It is divided into 2 subspecies: small and large. The latter inhabits the savanna of Africa, occupying almost half of the continent, everywhere. Small kudu is limited to Somalia, Kenya and Tanzania. On this difference from the big view ends.
The color of the small and large kudu is the same — chocolate blue. The transverse bands on the antelope body are white. Horns savanna animals are spiraling. In a large species, they reach one and a half meters in length. Small kudu is content with 90 centimeters.
Horns kudu — a weapon for battles, defenses. Therefore, in the mating season males turn their heads away from the females, becoming sideways to them. So the males show a peaceful, romantic attitude.
Elephant
The animal world of the savannah does not know a larger creature. However, with time elephants grow smaller. In the last century hunters exterminated individuals with large tusks. Those were the most massive and tall elephants. In 1956, for example, a male weighing 11 tons was shot dead in Angola. The height of the animal was almost 4 meters. The average height of African elephants is 3 meters.
Even a newborn elephant weighs 120 kilograms. Fertility lasts almost 2 years. This is a record among terrestrial animals. It is not surprising that the elephant’s brain is impressive, weighing more than 5 kilos. Therefore, elephants are capable of altruism, compassion, know how to grieve, listen to music and play instruments, draw, taking brushes in the trunk.
Giraffe
Exceeds the elephant in growth, reaching almost 7-meters, but not by weight. The length of the giraffe’s only language is 50 centimeters. This length allows the animal to grasp juicy leaves from the tops of tree crowns.
The neck also helps. Its length is more than a third of the total height of the giraffe. To send blood to the «high-rise floors» the heart of the inhabitant of the savannah is increased to a mass of 12 kilograms.
Animals living in the savannah, easily reach the crowns, but do not reach the ground. To drink, you have to bend the front legs.
Zebra
Effective coloring of the ungulate is a way to get rid of tsetse flies and other savannah savages. Black and white stripes reflect light differently. Between the lines there is a difference in heat fluxes. This, together with contrast, frightens off flies. In the world of insects, the «zebra» coloration is poisonous, dangerous species.
In most animals with spectacular colors the cubs are born monotonous. The picture is shown when the offspring grows up. Zebryat immediately born striped. The pattern is unique, like a fingerprint of a human finger.
Pink flamingo
In Africa there are 2 species: small and common. Like antelope kudu, differ only in size. The term «flamingo» is Latin, meaning «fire.» This is an indication of the bright colors of the birds. The pigment is taken from the crustaceans that feed the birds.
Newborn flamingos are white or grayish. The pink plumage is saturated by the 3rd year of age. This is the bar of puberty. In order to lay eggs, flamingos build nests from mud, which does not quite fit in with the aristocratic appearance of birds.
Lion
The world of lions left a maximum of 50 thousand individuals. In the last century a male weighing 318 kilograms was shot. The length of the cat was 335 centimeters. In the current century, there are no such giants. The average weight of the lion is 200 kilograms.
The males of the species have a mane not without reason. During the fighting for the females and territory in the wool the teeth of opponents get stuck. In addition, the size of the mane is estimated by the lioness when choosing partners for mating. What animals in the savannah of the woolly, the females of the species prefer.
African crocodile
African crocodiles are called Nile. However, according to zoological division, this is only one of the three species that inhabit the continent. There are also tupory and narrow-necked crocodiles. The latter — the endemic of Africa, does not occur outside its borders.
Among living reptiles crocodiles are recognized as the most organized. Scientists are based on the perfection of respiratory, nervous, circulatory systems. Crocodiles are closer to extinct dinosaurs and modern birds than other reptiles of our time.
Rhinoceros
Rhinoceroses are savanna animals of Africa, inferior in size only to elephants. With a length of about 5 meters and a 2-meter height, the animal weighs about 4 tons. The horn on the nose can rise to 150 centimeters.
Rhinoceroses in Africa are of two types: white and black. The latter has up to 5 horns. The first highest, the following — below. White rhinos do not have more than 3 horns. They are cutaneous outgrowths, they resemble hooves in structure.
Blue wildebeest
Numerous species, is distributed not only in protected areas of national parks. At the withers, gnu reaches one and a half meters. The weight of the ungulates reaches 270 kilograms. Coloring differs not only in the blue tint, but also in transverse dark bands from the front of the body.
Twice a year the wildebeest migrate. The reason is the search for water and suitable herbs. Wildebeest eat a limited list of plants. Sweeping them in one locality, the antelopes rush into others.
Eagle-fisher
He has a white feather head and neck, a triangle setting on his chest and back. The eagle’s body is brownish-black. The bird’s beak is yellow with a darkening at the end. The paws of the fisherman are also yellowish, feathered to the shins.
The eagle-fisher is a territorial feather, securing a respectable territory. If another eagle encroaches on a fish spot, violent clashes take place between the birds.
Cheetah
For 3 seconds it accelerates to 112 kilometers per hour. This mobility requires energy costs. To replenish them, the cheetah constantly hunts. Actually, for the sake of hunting, the beast develops an impressive speed. This is such a vicious circle.
The life of savanna animals can be interrupted after 10 unsuccessful attacks. At 11-12, as a rule, there is no energy left. Predators fall from exhaustion.
Hippo
Otherwise it is called a hippopotamus. This term is made up of 2 Latin words, translated as «river horse». This title reflects the love of the animal for water. Hippos immerse into it, falling into a kind of trance. Under the water there are fish, cleansing the hippo mouths, their skin.
Between the fingers of animals there are swimming membranes. Fat also contributes to buoyancy. The nostrils of hippopotamuses close under water. Breathing is required every 5 minutes. Therefore hippos periodically raise their heads above the water.
The mouth of the hippopotamus opens 180 degrees. The strength of the bite is 230 kilograms. This is enough to deprive the life of a crocodile. With the meat of reptiles, hippos diversify the herbal diet. The fact that hippopotamus eat meat is the discovery of the 21st century.
Buffalo
In the photo, savanna animals look impressive. No wonder, because the growth of the buffalo is almost 2 meters, and the length is 3.5. The meter of the latter falls on the tail. The weight of some males reaches a ton. The average weight is 500-900 kilograms. Females are smaller than males.
It seems that all the buffaloes are dull and alert. This is the result of the peculiarity of the structure of the ungulate. The head of the buffalo is below the straight line of the back.
Leopard
The smallest among the big cats. The height of the leopard at the withers does not exceed 70 centimeters. The length of the animal is 1.5 meters. The size bar is also in the amount of precipitation required for the leopard to settle in the savannah.
The cat remains in it only if a minimum of 5 centimeters of water falls from the sky in a year. However, this amount of precipitation occurs even in semi-deserts. There, leopards also settle.
The color of a leopard depends on the surrounding landscape. In the savannah, cats are often orange. In the deserts, they are sand-colored animals.
Baboon
A typical inhabitant of East Africa. Baboons there have adapted to hunt together. Antelopes become victims. For the prey monkeys are fighting, because they do not like to share. Hunting together is necessary, because otherwise the ungulate will not kill.
Baboons are smart, easy to tame. This was also used by the ancient Egyptians. They tamed baboons, teaching them to collect dates on plantations.
Grant gazelle
Herbivorous savannah animals are listed in the International Red Book. The population is about 250 thousand individuals. Most of them live in protected areas of African national parks.
You can recognize the look by the beige color of short hair, white belly, shadows on the legs and highlights on the face. The growth of the gazelle does not exceed 90 centimeters, and weight 45 kilograms.
On the gazelle of the grant is like a tinson gazelle. However, the first horn lyrate, as it were composed of individual rings. At the base of the outgrowths, their diameter is larger. The length of the horns is 45-80 centimeters.
African ostrich
Two-meter and 150-kilogram flightless bird. It is larger than other birds. Having lost the ability to fly, the ostrich learned to run at a speed of 70 kilometers per hour. Without slowing down, the bird can dramatically change the direction of movement. In addition, the ostrich clearly sees at speed.
The ostrich has no teeth. Therefore, like a hen, a bird swallows pebbles. They help to grind vegetable and protein foods in the stomach.
Orix
Oricks are wild savannah animals, the cubs of which are born with horns. At kids they are protected by leathery bags. As the pomegranate grows, straight horns break through them. They are those in the Oryx savannah. There are also Arabian and Saharan species. Those horns are bent to the back.
Oryx is a Red Book. The representative of savannah is the most common. But the last Sahara oryx was last seen about 20 years ago. Perhaps the animal died out. However, Africans periodically report on meetings with ungulates. However, the documentary statements are not confirmed.
Warthog
It’s the only wild pig digging holes. In them the warthog lives. Sometimes a pig recaptures the burrows of other animals or takes up empty ones. Females pick up large holes. They must also contain the offspring. Male burrows are smaller, up to 3 meters in length.
Warthogs are fearful. This spurred the savannah pigs to develop a speed of 50 kilometers per hour. Bullet warthogs rush to their burrows or thickets of bushes. Other pigs are not capable of such speeds.
Horned crows
It is an ubiquitous bird. Its length reaches a meter, and the mass of 6 kilograms. The small head is crowned with a long, massive, bent down beak with a build-up over it.
The tail, neck and wings to the crow are long, and the body is dense. The feather cover is black. The skin of the bird is red. This can be seen in the exposed areas near the eyes and on the neck.
In youth, the bare skin of the crow is orange. You can see the bird in Kenya, in the north-east and east of Africa.
Hyena
About her fame is notorious. The animal is considered cowardly and, at the same time, mean, vicious. However, scientists notice that hyena is the best mother among mammals. Puppies feed on breast milk for 20 months and first eat.
The females drive away the males from the food, letting the children in. In lions, for example, offspring are humbly waiting for the father to regale.
They feed on hyenas not only with meat. Savannah inhabitants like juicy fruits, nuts. Having eaten them, hyenas often fall asleep near the place of a meal
Aardvark
The only representative of the detachment of pipe-toothed. The animal is relict, similar to an anteater and also eats ants, but belongs to another order of mammals. The ears of a pipe-tooth, like a hare. An animal’s nose resembles a trunk or a hose from a vacuum cleaner.
The tail of a trumpet is similar to a rat. The body is somewhat like a young boar. You can see the belief in the savannahs south of the Sahara.
If the trip to Africa is not planned, contemplate the pipe-chimney can be in the zoos of Russia. In 2013, by the way, a baby of an exotic animal was born in Yekaterinburg. Earlier it was not possible to get the offspring of pipe-toothed cubs in captivity.
Guinea fowl
Caesar’s domesticated. However, in the nature there were free populations. They belong to the chicken. The size of a guinea fowl is also a chicken. However, the latter can not fly. The guinea fowl ascends into the sky, though with difficulty, short and rounded wings interfere.
The guinea fowl has a social organization. Feathered species are kept in packs. The mechanism was developed for survival in savanna conditions.
Porcupine
Among the porcupines, the African is the largest. Among the rodents, the animal also has no equal. Some spines on the porcupine are longer than him. The Africans do not know how to throw spears at enemies, although there is such a myth.
The animal only raises the needle vertically. The tubes on the tail are hollow. Using this, the porcupine moves the tail needles, making rustling sounds. They scare the enemies, recalling the hissing of a rattlesnake.
In the battles, the porcupine needles break off. If you can not scare off the enemy, the animal runs around the offender, exhausting and stabbing. Broken needles grow again
Dikdik
Do not go far into the savannah, keeping on its perimeter. The reason — a miniature antelope you need a cover in the form of dense thickets of bush. In them, hoof length of about half a meter and a height of 30 centimeters is easy to hide. Weight does not exceed 6 kilograms.
The females are devoid of horns. Coloring in different sexes is the same. The abdomen of the antelope is white, and the rest of the body is red-brown or yellow-gray.
Weaver
African relative of the red-sparrow sparrow. In general, weavers have more than 100 species. In the savannas of Africa, there are 10 names. The red-bellied weaver is the most common.
In Africa, 10 billion weavers live. Annually 200 million are destroyed. This does not jeopardize the size of the genus.
Somali wild donkey
Occurs in Ethiopia. View to the brink of extinction. On the legs of the animal there are black horizontal lines. This Somali donkey reminds a zebra. There is similarity in the structure of the body.
Thoroughbreds remained in Africa. In zoos and national parks, ungulates are often crossed with a Nubian donkey. Offspring are called Eurasian savannah animals. In Switzerland Basel, for example, since the 1970s, 35 hybrid foals have been born.
The most thoroughbred Somali donkeys outside Africa are found in zoos in Italy.
Savannahs are often called the steppe expanses of Australia and America. However, biologists divide biotopes. Animals of the savannah of South America are more correctly called the inhabitants of the Pampas. This is the exact name of the continent’s steppes.
Animals of the savannah of North America are actually beasts of the prairies. In these steppes, as in South American, low grass, trees and shrubs at least.
