Excerpt
From Chapter Focus on: East African savanna
There are more kinds of large animals on the grassy plains of East Africa than anywhere else in the world. They include the biggest bird -- the ostrich -- and the tallest and heaviest land mammals -- the giraffe and the African elephant.
In some wetter areas of the savanna, the grass is dense and tall, but in drier places it grows in low clumps. Some plains have lots of flat-topped acacia trees and strange baobab trees that store water in their thick trunks.
Not all the animals are competing for the same food. While giraffes chew the leaves at the top of trees, tiny dik-dik antelopes browse at the bottom of small bushes. Zebras nibble the tough ends of grass, but gazelles prefer the tender young shoots.
Other animals hunt for their food. Lions, leopards, cheetahs, hyenas, and hunting dogs are the biggest hunters. They can kill gazelles or even antelopes and zebras.
When the carnivores have finished eating, scavengers such as vultures and jackals often come along to seize the leftovers.
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