African Savannah (1st Grade reading)

In some parts of the world, the seasons do not change.

In the African savannah it is always hot.  

Savannahs are covered with tall grasses.

The grass is very tall. It is taller than a man!

grass – African savannah

dry grass – African savannah

It is yellow and brown because of the hot sun!

There are some trees but they are not many!

trees in the savannah

trees in the savannah

Grass is an important food for animals such as zebras!

The African savannah is home to a lot of animals – zebras, giraffes, lions, cheetahs and elephants.

 

zebra

lion

giraffe

elephant

cheetah

Lions are members of cat family. They live on the savannah in groups of 15 to 40 lions. 

Lion is the second largest cat in the world!

Lions are predators. They eat other animals.

The babies of the lions are called cubs.

cub

lion

lioness

Zebras are members of the horse family. They can hear very well and they can run very fast.

Zebras eat grass and leaves. They have black and white stripes.

When zebras are together and they run, their stripes make it hard for a lion to see them very well.

zebras

zebras

Giraffes are the tallest animals in the world.

They have a very, very long neck!

Giraffes eat leaves from trees.

Trees are tall and giraffes need long necks to get to them.

giraffe

giraffes

The cheetah is the fastest land animal in the world.

Cheetahs are smaller than other members of the big cat family.

Cheetahs only need to drink once every three to four days.

Cheetahs are predators but they can’t see very well at night.

cheetah

cheetah

Elephants are the largest living animal in the world. They have very big ears.

African elephants have tusks. They use them for digging. Elephants have trunks. They can be very long! 

Elephants eat leaves and twigs. They can swim.

elephants

elephants

trunk

tusks

In Africa there are trees called baobabs.

The baobabs and the elephants are not friends.

Elephants eat baobabs because they have water in them.

Baobabs are trees that can live for a very long time.

They have very interesting fruit.

baobab fruit

baobab tree

baobab

baobabs