Animals
Temperate grasslands have a low diversity of wildlife, but a high abundance of wildlife. In North America the dominant grazing animals are bison and pronghorn. Rodents include pocket gophers and prairie dogs. Carnivores include wolves, coyotes, swift foxes, badgers and black-footed ferrets. Birds include grouses, meadowlarks, quails, sparrows, hawks and owls. Animals that live in temperate grasslands must adjust to dry terrain in which just 10 to 30 inches of rain falls per year, making temperate grasslands less diverse than the wetter savanna grasslands. Temperate grasslands are characterized by short grasses measuring just a few inches in height. The grasses, upon which many animals in the grassland biome rely for food, thrives during the warm growing season, going dormant during the cold winter.
Temperate grasslands have a low diversity of wildlife, but a high abundance of wildlife. In North America the dominant grazing animals are bison and pronghorn. Rodents include pocket gophers and prairie dogs. Carnivores include wolves, coyotes, swift foxes, badgers and black-footed ferrets. Birds include grouses, meadowlarks, quails, sparrows, hawks and owls. Animals that live in temperate grasslands must adjust to dry terrain in which just 10 to 30 inches of rain falls per year, making temperate grasslands less diverse than the wetter savanna grasslands. Temperate grasslands are characterized by short grasses measuring just a few inches in height. The grasses, upon which many animals in the grassland biome rely for food, thrives during the warm growing season, going dormant during the cold winter.