Endangered Grassland Animals

Grassland is an area having predominant vegetation of grasses. It contains few woody plants in the form of shrubs and trees. It is an excellent pasture ground, and a great farmland area. Human expansions have converted large tracts of grasslands into agricultural farmlands, which have endangered grassland animals.

Grasslands can be classified into two categories- tropical grasslands and temperate grasslands. Tropical grasslands, called savannas, are located between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. They have hot and wet climate throughout the year that brings torrential rains.

Temperate grasslands, on the other hand, have hot summers and cold winters. A high rate of evaporation, with little rains, makes it a rich soil area. It is located north of the Tropic of Cancer and south of the Tropic of Capricorn.

Grasslands are better known by different names in different areas. It is known as Savannas in Africa, Prairies in North America, Pampas in South America, the Rangelands in Australia, and the Steppes in Asia. It is home to many animals ranging from grasshoppers and beetles to large mammals like antelopes and bison.

Grasslands offer a diversity of plant species, which makes it a thriving area for a wide variety of insects. It provides with abundant resources for food, water, shelter, and breeding ground to make it a natural habitat.

The human expansion and grassland predators such as coyotes, foxes, weasels, snakes, raptors like Red-tailed Hawk, etc. have contributed to the endangerment of grassland animals. Here we discuss about some endangered grassland animals:

Anthropoids: This category of endangered grassland animals includes Franklin's bumble bee found in the western part of United States and the minor black millipede in South Africa.

Amphibians: About 140 species of amphibians have been listed as endangered grassland animals. It includes South Africa's Hewitt ghost toad, Australia's Corroboree frog, Mexico's axolotl, and Kazakhstan's Semirechensk salamander.

Reptiles: The red list of International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) includes 17 species of reptiles as endangered grassland animals. Some of them are Orlov's viper in the Black Sea region of Russia, and Bendimahi rock lizard found in the Anatolia region of Turkey.

Mammals: More than 100 species of mammals in grasslands are endangered animals. Hunter's antelope and Walia ibex in South Africa, the black-footed ferret and giant kangaroo rat in North America, and Asian elephant and hispid hare in Asia are some of the endangered grassland animals.

Birds: The red list of IUCN has listed 62 species of birds as endangered grassland animals. Hyacinth macaw in South America and the Saker falcon belonging to the regions of eastern Asia, Africa, and Europe are categorized in this group.

Therefore, grasslands serve as an important thriving area for the humans as well as the animals. The biodiversity of grasslands offer a unique opportunity for all to grow and prosper. But, in an effort to manage the rapid human expansion, man has crossed all the limits to challenge the ecosystem. This has created a difficult situation for the mute endangered animals.