The first photo is of the African savanna and the second is of the Colorado steppe. The grasses and plant associations are very similar. And below are close up images of fruiting grasses, with the African savanna on the left and Colorado steppe on the right.
The prairies of central North America are classified as temperate grassland, while those of Africa are tropical savanna. What makes grassland temperate? First, rain falls in spring and early summer, and is limited usually to about 20 inches per year. This lack of rainfall coupled with the relatively thin soils found in temperate grassland prevents trees or shrubs from establishing. Second, temperate grassland experiences tremendous seasonal variations in temperature; temperate grasslands have a winter that limits the growing season.
Savanna grassland is the tropical version of the temperate grassland and in contrast to temperate grasslands they usually receive more rainfall and have some trees and shrubs scattered in the landscape. Savannas don’t experience a winter and are caused by a distinctive climate pattern that includes a wet season followed by a long dry season without rain. Fires frequent the dry season and thin the trees and shrubs that would otherwise invade the grassland. In both, it is the rains that bring another cycle of life to the grassland. In North America it is an awakening that follows a long cold winter, in Africa it's the blood that breaths life back into the parched, dry and fire prone savanna.
The large animals inhabiting the plains of both continents, either did, or still undergo extensive migrations as they follow along behind the rains, engorging themselves on the grasses that respond almost immediately to the sudden abundance of moisture. In North America, it was bison, elk, and pronghorn that occupied the landscape in the 10,000s or even millions in the case of bison, moving like a silent army, tracking the rainfall across the landscape. In Africa, it is the wildebeest, impala, buffalo, and other antelope that still remain today, following the rains across the landscape and giving birth to a new generation of offspring as they move.
Bison on the North American plains, left, and buffalo on the African savanna, right.
Along with the large herds of roaming animals there exists robust populations of predators feeding off this cornucopia of wildlife. In Africa there are the wild dog, jackal, lion, leopard, cheetah, caracal, hyena, and honey badger. In North America there are or were the wolf, coyote, fox, cougar, bobcat, grizzly bear, and badger. It is striking how similar these predators are, there are canids, cats, badgers, and miscellaneous other predators in each grassland type. Can you tell me what is in the picture below? Is it from Africa or North America?
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| No this isn't a coyote, it's a jackal on the African savanna |
As an ecologist, I find all of this fascinating, something that is almost visceral and meaningful at a very deep level. I would encourage all of you who are reading this to contact us and start planning your trip to Africa today to witness these majestic predators and the magnificent migrations for yourself. Migrations that persist today as they have for eons in a landscape capable of making one think they were in a far off time, experiencing something long sense lost to our modern way of life.
Contact us and book your trip to Africa today!
