For most of you who might not know what a savanna is, well savanna is one of the biomes on Earth. It is a dry terrain, and it looks similar to a desert. Scientists have mentioned that the African savanna is partly a tropical rainforest and also partly desert.
This is because the water supply and the amount of rain in savanna is not much but enough to prevent it from turning into a desert. Due to the water supply, trees struggle to grow in this terrain and there aren’t many trees to see.
The animals that live in this area have to mainly survive on thick high grasses, shrubs and also bushes. And for the carnivores, they will have to run fast and hunt the plant-eating animals to get food. You might see these animals portrayed in the “Lion King” or even Madagascar.
So before getting even more curious, let’s discover the animals in Africa’s savanna.
- Lion
With a golden colored fur that matches the tall grasses in savanna, lions are great hunters, especially with a good disguise. They are patient when it comes to catching their prey, and they would also hunt in packs.
Lions are the only species of cats that hunt in packs. When it comes to hunting in packs, these lions would have a group of up to 30 lions.
These animals are smarter than you think, and they are polygamous animals that can have different mates. Even tho these animals are diurnal and hunt in the daytime, they spend most of their time sleeping.
They would spend up to 20 hours a day sleeping. Of course, there is no worrying about any predator if lions themselves are on the top of the food chain.
- Aardvark
When it comes to infested lands and pest control, the aardvark is a great animal and eats up to 50,000 insects a day. They mainly feast on insects called termites which we would also discuss later on in this article.
Aardvark has a similar body to a big and resembles a groundhog. In other names, they are usually called “earth hogs”, this is because they live below ground.
They would dig holes and burrow while creating tunnels to travel around. This is an effective way to survive due to the danger that lies above ground. There is nowhere safe when it comes to savanna, especially with predators such as lions roaming around.
- African Elephant
A giant of the land, with a weight of over 6 tons, this animal is surely a slow-moving animal. Besides its weight, this animal is also awarded as the world’s largest land mammal.
With huge ears to help it survive from the radiating sun, these elephants would flap their ears back and forth to cool its body down.
Other organs help these mammals survive. Who doesn’t know the trunk of an elephant? A long organ that is used to smell, breathe, detecting vibrations, grab things, and sucking up water.
Their population is now quickly declining due to hunting. The tusks of these African elephants are valuable and they are being poached due to that.
Up to this date, these African elephants have a threat of being extinct animals. Speaking of animals extinction, here are some of the animals extinct in 20th century.
- Zebra
Famous for its black and white stripes pattern, this animal is native to Africa’s savanna. It has a top speed of almost 70 km/h and can be considered as one of the world’s fastest-moving land animals.
These animals are social animals and would move as a group. They would keep on traveling for hundreds to thousands of kilometers away just to find a source of water and green vegetation.
Yes, it may be true that this animal is herbivorous and is often prey to lions and leopards. When it comes to defending against predators, zebras are fierce fighters and would protect one another when threatened. They would circle the predator to intimidate it and then charge towards it.
- Termite
They aren’t diurnal, nor they are nocturnal animals. This animal does not sleep at all! And they would keep on working for 24 hours a day.
They are similar to ants and sometimes even confused as ants. The only physical difference is that termites have a much thicker waist compared to ants.
And unlike ants, termites feed on wood or any materials that contain cellulose. So when you have broken furniture or found holes in some of your wood, this is the animal that is responsible for that.
They are silent and quick destroyers, but when they are threatened, they would bang their heads onto any surface to create a vibration. This is how they talk to each other.
- Cheetah
Known to be the fastest land animal on Earth, cheetahs are unique for its muscle strength and also the patterns on its body. They are categorized as big cats, in the same family as lions.
Besides its speed, they are also great hunters due to their eyesight. Cheetahs could see up to 5 kilometers away and sense any prey.
After detecting what to eat, they would quickly sprint into action and chase their food down.
- Girrafe
Last but not least, are giraffes. They are the tallest mammals on Earth. Due to their height, they would only eat tall trees, that is why it is hard for this animal to roam around and find trees to feast in the savanna. Besides that, giraffes only need to drink once every couple of days.