Areas of shrub savannah can be found in North and South America, Europe, Africa and Australia. They are warm and dry areas with, as the name implies, many shrubs. These areas are often unattractive to humans, but different types of plants and animals feel at home here. Small animals such as spiders and crickets, as well as larger animals such as antelopes and snakes, live there.
Bush savannah
Areas of shrub savannah can be found on different continents of the earth. They occur in dry regions where it can get quite hot in summer. Usually it is completely dry on the bush savannas for a few months a year. In North America, shrub savannahs can be found in the state of California in the southwestern United States, in South America in the west on the plains of Gran Chaco, which lie in Bolivia, Argentina and Paraguay. In Europe they occur in the south along the shores of the Mediterranean. Also in South Africa and the west, south and east of Australia are areas with bush savannas. As the name implies, many types of shrubs grow on these savannas. In addition, there are also many other plants. For humans, these areas are usually a wilderness that is difficult to navigate, but for certain types of animals the bush savannas are a suitable habitat.
Plants
Many shrubs grow on bush savannas. Shrubs are woody plants with branches that grow low from the ground. They can be very small, but also a few meters high. Furthermore, a wide variety of other plants can be found in these areas. For example, in the bush savannas of Western Australia, more than 7,000 different types of plants grow. In South Africa, proteas, shrubs usually with brightly colored flowers, grow, of which the larger species can reach a height of about two meters. The flowers make nectar, which attracts birds and other animals. These animals spread pollen from the flowers so that the proteas can then reproduce. Other plants that can be found on the savannah bushes include various types of cacti, sagebrush bushes, banksias, yuccas and grass trees.
Fires on bush savannahs are not exceptional events. Animals can flee when a fire starts, but plants are unable to do so. Yet fires in these areas are not as devastating as they might seem. The plants can generally recover quickly and it does not take long before they have formed new leaves. There are also plants that will spread their seeds in a fire. The soil is then very fertile and young plants have plenty of room to grow. Proteas are shrubs that make use of this. They open their seed pods when there is a fire, so the seeds can start to spread from then on.
Animals
Arthropods
Trapdoor spiders live on bush savannas. They live in burrows that they line with silk. At the entrance they make a hinged web that serves as a trap door. When a prey animal comes along, the spider feels these vibrations. It comes out very quickly and grabs its prey. This is poisoned and the trapdoor spider takes its meal into its hole.
Other arthropods that live on the bush savannahs include crickets and saber crickets. Both these are insects with long and strong hind legs and their loud chirps can often be heard from both. Saber crickets and crickets do this by rubbing their forewings together. Because of their color, when they sit still, they often hardly stand out in their environment. This is useful because they always run the risk of ending up as other animals’ meals. However, if the cricket or grasshopper starts moving, it will be much easier for predators to see.
Reptiles
Reptiles that live on the bush savannas are different types of lizards and snakes. Lizards usually have a long body and a long tail. They like to lie in the sun to warm up, after which they have enough energy to be active again. There are also plenty of sheltered spots on the shrub savannas. Lizards like to eat crickets and saber crickets, which try to hide from predators. They themselves are eaten by larger lizards or by birds.
Snakes that can be found on the bush savannas include vipers, whip snakes and California kingsnakes. Vipers are snakes with long fangs hidden in the snake’s mouth. There are a kind of hinges on the teeth so that they can be folded. When they attack, they fold out their fangs to put them inside the victim. Rattlesnakes are also vipers and are dangerous poisonous snakes as well. They have a ratchet that does indeed make a rattling sound when the snake moves. With this they scare enemies. Vipers may be poisonous snakes, but they make a nice meal for some snakes that are not poisonous. For example, California kingsnakes, which themselves are not poisonous, are very quick and attack venomous rattlesnakes to kill and eat them. Snakes also eat rodents and birds.
Birds
Shrike are hookbilled songbirds that they use to catch animals such as lizards and insects. They are often hidden in the bushes waiting for prey to come by. When they have eaten enough but not yet used up all their captured food, they use plant thorns to impale their remaining prey. This way they have a supply to return to later if they don’t have enough food.
The Cape sugar bird lives on the South African bush savannah. This bird has a narrow long beak and much longer tail feathers. They eat insects, seeds and nectar. For example, they get nectar from the protea bushes that grow there. Their long beak is useful for accessing the nectar at the bottom of the flowers. Cape sugar birds also help pollinate plants in this way.
Mammals
Several species of marsupials can be found on the Australian savannas, such as the proboscis opossum and the flying opossum. The flying possum cannot fly, but these small animals are able to float from one tree to another. They do this by using flaps of skin that act as a kind of wings. The proboscis opossum cannot float, it climbs at night in bushes with the help of its feet that do not slip quickly. By smelling he knows where there are flowers with nectar and pollen. He also takes care of the pollination of flowers. Kangaroos and wallabies can also be found on the Australian bush savannah. Here they eat parts of plants.
Other mammals that also live on bush savannas outside of Australia include multiple species of antelope, deer and gazelles. They belong to the ungulates and they are all herbivores. They eat leaves and other parts of plants that they encounter on the savannahs.