How To Draw Savanna Trees? 97 Most Correct Answers

SAVANNAH Location | Weather | Plants | Animals | people | Games | Left LOCATION: Savannas consist mainly of grasses and a few scattered trees. They cover half the surface of Africa, large areas of Australia, South America and India. That is a large part of the earth’s surface! Savannahs can result from climate change, soil composition, animal behavior or agricultural practices. People create savannas by burning grasslands and cutting down trees so they can grow crops. Large animals like elephants can turn a forest into a savannah by uprooting trees, removing bark from trees, and trampling on tree saplings. WEATHER: An important factor in the savannah is the climate. The climate is typically warm with temperatures ranging from 68° to 86°F (20 to 30°C). Savannas are found in areas where there is a 6 to 8 month wet summer season and a 4 to 6 month dry winter season. Annual rainfall ranges from 25 to 75 cm (10 to 30 inches) per year. During the dry season, lightning often strikes the ground and ignites the dry grasses that cover the savannah. PLANTS: The savannah is dominated by grasses such as rhodes grass, red oat grass, star grass, lemongrass and some shrubs. Most savanna grass is coarse and grows in patches with interspersed areas of bare soil. Due to the low rainfall, you will not see many trees in the savannah. Occasionally one finds single trees or small groups of trees. They usually live near streams and ponds. The acacia tree is an interesting plant in the savannah. It has an umbrella shape with branches and leaves high above the ground that giraffes love to eat. Baobab trees also live in the savannah. They cope with dry conditions by storing water between the bark and flesh of the tree. ANIMALS: There are many different types of animals that live in the savannah. The species found in savannas vary according to the geographic location of the biome. Animals native to African savannas include African elephants, zebras, horses, and giraffes. Many animals in the savannah are herbivores, meaning they eat plants, and there is a lot of grass in the savannah. During the rainy months, animals thrive on the savannah, but the rainy season lasts only half of the year. During the dry season, surface water from rain is rapidly absorbed into the soil by thirsty soils. Competition for water during the dry season is so intense that most birds and many of the large mammals migrate elsewhere in search of water. Depending on the severity of the drought, migration can be to a nearby or distant location. The dry season is often associated with fires. Many short-lived insects die in these fires, but the birds and larger animals can usually fly or get to safety. Although small burrowing animals are unlikely to be able to escape the flames, they often survive the fire by burrowing deep into the ground and staying there until the flames die out. Some birds, like the forked-tailed drongos, do not flee from the fires; They actually fly to the fires. For these birds, fire means dinner. They eat the fleeing or flame-roasted insects. PEOPLE AND THE SAVANNAH Some environmental issues related to savannas include poaching or hunting, overgrazing, and destruction of land for commercial cultivation. Many animals in the savannah, such as rhinos and zebras, are endangered and threatened with extinction due to hunting, poaching and habitat loss. The savannah is often degraded when used as grazing land for non-native domestic cattle. Cattle grazing also limits the amount of food available to wildlife. GAMES: Savannah Crossword

Savannah Crossword Solutions LEFT: Blue Planet Biomes: Savanna Enchanted Learning: Savanna Animal Printouts Smithsonian National Zoological Park: African Savanna for Kids

1. Students use perceptual sketches to illustrate their observations while listening to the National Geographic video “Ultimate Enemies”.

Tell students that they will be making perceptual sketches. Instruct students to close their eyes and listen to what they hear in the classroom. Have students listen carefully for one minute. Then ask them to draw symbols and shapes (not words) in their notebooks to describe what they heard. Have students share their observations aloud. Discuss similarities and differences in what they heard. Next, explain to the students that they will be creating another perception sketch, but this time they will listen to the National Geographic video “Ultimate Enemies.” Encourage students to listen and outline multiple levels of what they hear. After listening to the video, write the following questions on the board and have students share their observations aloud. Questions:

What symbols or shapes did you sketch? What do they represent?

What is the video about?

Where was the video made?

What animal species have you heard of?

What type of ecological community or ecosystem do you think is represented in the video?

Explain to students that the video is about a community of organisms that includes birds, lions, hyenas, and elephants. Explain that this special community lives in Botswana, Africa.

2. Students use perceptual sketches to illustrate their observations while watching the same video.

After listening to the video and discussing their perceptual sketches, students may not yet know the ecosystem type. Play the video again without telling the students the ecosystem type, but this time have them watch and listen as they record their observations and answers to the questions in their notebooks. Then discuss the students’ observations. Discuss the questions again, noting if the students’ answers have changed or refined. Explain to the students that the video is about organisms that live in an African savannah ecosystem. Explain that a savanna is a type of tropical grassland with scattered trees.

3. Build background on ecosystem ecology: environment and communities.

Draw a two-bar chart on the board and write the following headings: Terms and Notes. Then write the following terms in the left column: ecosystem, environment, organism/community, food chain, and food web. Give students the Two Column Chart worksheet or have them draw the chart and write the terms in their notebooks. In the right-hand column, next to the term ecosystem, have students write the ecosystem type (savannah) shown in the video. Next, have them write a description of the savannah’s environment next to the term “environment.” Ask: What are the inanimate components that characterize the ecosystem environment? Discover for students that environments are characterized by soil, water, temperature, sunlight, wind, and rain. Explain that the African savannah is also called tropical grassland. It has warm temperatures all year round and rainfall is seasonal and peaks in summer. The savanna is characterized by grasses and small or scattered trees that do not form a closed canopy and allow adequate sunlight to reach the ground. Explain to students that a group of organisms that interact under similar environmental conditions in a given region is called a community. Display the illustration of the African savannah ecosystem. Have students use the illustration and their video observations to record several organisms that make up the African savanna ecosystem.

4. Identify the food relationships of the African savannah: food chains and food webs.

Ask: What is a food chain? (A food chain is a group of organisms linked together in the order of their food, from producers to consumers, from prey to predators, and from scavengers to decomposers.) Using the two-column diagram, have students identify one or more food chains of organisms, you listed in step 3. Elicit responses that include organisms from different feeding levels: producers, primary consumers (herbivores), secondary consumers (carnivores), omnivores, decomposers, insectivores, scavengers, and detritivores. Use the African Savannah Illustration Key to write on the board at least two example food chains and label their food amounts. Ask: Why do food chains have arrows between organisms and not just straight lines? Determine for the students that the arrows represent the flow of energy and matter between the feeding planes. Be sure to point out the role of decomposers, omnivores, and other feeding groups that students may be less familiar with. Ask: What is a food web? How is a food web related to a food chain? Elicit from students that food chains show only one route of food and energy through an ecosystem. In most ecosystems, organisms can obtain food and energy from more than one source and may have more than one predator. Healthy, balanced ecosystems consist of multiple, interacting food chains, called food webs. As a class, have students practice combining two of the savannah food chains to create a food web.

5. Assign students roles in the African savannah ecosystem.

Tell the students that they will build their own African savannah community network based on the organisms and environmental factors they discussed and observed during the activity. Have students work individually or in pairs and assign them one of the organisms or environmental factors listed in the Background Information on the African Savannah handout. Tell them to use thread and index cards to create an ecosystem role map that includes what they represent (organism or environmental factor) and their relationship to other components of the savannah ecosystem. Students should write their organism/factor name on one side of the card and then list the types of interactions on the other side. Interactions with organisms can involve food relationships and resources that the organisms compete for or share with other organisms. Tell students that they should be able to say, “I am that (what they represent) and I am connected to (the relationship with other components of the ecosystem) because…”

6. Have students create a community web for the African savannah ecosystem.

Have students stand in a large circle with their ecosystem role cards visible. Have students take turns reading aloud from their card, “I am who…and I am connected to…because…” and toss the ball of thread to the environmental factor or organism (student) to which they are connected. Discuss relationships and keep building the community web until all roles are part of the web. Next, release a student from the string and discuss what would happen if that factor or organism were no longer part of the community web. Then release another connected student from the string. Focusing on the African savannah ecosystem, discuss the importance of all the threads holding the web together. Discuss how humans interact with the African savannah community. Ask: What is the role of humans in the ecosystem? (Humans are omnivores and consumers at the highest level. They use ecosystem resources and modify the environment, often competing with other organisms for food and space.) Ask: How do humans and big cats interact? What about the cattle? Explain to students that humans and big cats play similar roles in feeding relationships. They are both top carnivores and contribute to the balance of the ecosystem by consuming herbivores. Humans and lions also come into conflict because humans can kill lions and destroy or use lion habitat for livestock and agriculture. Big cats, in turn, can kill humans and their livestock and become competitors for food and space.

During your safari in Tanzania we drive you through the African savannah where trees and grass are the food for the wild animals. The trees are scattered and there is no enclosed canopy.

The African baobab tree – Adansonia digitata

Baobab is one of the most common trees during safari. This tree is native to the African continent and is also found in the savannas of Tanzania. Some believe this tree was planted upside down because of its appearance. Some African tribes believe that baobabs were erect and too proud. The gods got angry and uprooted them and threw them back into the ground upside down.

The tree attains a height of 5–25 m (16–82 ft) and its trunk attains a diameter of 10–14 m (33–46 ft). The roots actually tower above the tree height, which helps it survive dry climates. The lifespan of the trees is over 1000 years.

Whistling Thorns – Vachellia drepanolobium/Acacia drepanolobium

Acacia drepanolobium is a species of flowering plant in the Fabaceae family. It binds nitrogen. It is photoautotrophic, a slender shrub or tree, with short branches radiating from the main trunk. Typically grows 1-5 meters tall, occasionally reaching 8 meters.

The plant’s common name comes from the observation that when the wind blows over bulbous spikes that ants have made entry/exit holes in, they make a whistling sound. The tree actually encourages these ants by providing both a home and food in special flower-like structures called “extrafloral nectaries.”

Sausage Tree – Kigelia africana

The sausage tree of sub-Saharan Africa blooms beautifully, the blood-red to chestnut-brown flowers hanging in long panicles. The flower’s scent is not pleasing to humans, but attracts the pygmy epaulette fruit bat (Micropteropus pusillus), its pollinator.

This tree can grow up to 20 meters high. The tree grows in the tropical and humid savanna regions of sub-Saharan Africa.

The large tree is sparsely distributed in the Serengeti. It produces distinctive long (up to 1 m), juicy, poisonous fruits that fall from the tree, releasing seeds as the pulp rots. There are various uses of this tree fruit including: making a range of skin care products and making alcoholic beverages etc.

acacia tree

Acacia trees are without a doubt the most iconic trees in Africa. You can spot this tree in most savannah areas across the continent, most acacias typically only live 20 to 30 years. Their long roots help stabilize the soil in areas prone to erosion. The strong roots reach deep for underground water, which explains why the tree tolerates extreme drought conditions.

Another name for acacia tree is thorn trees. Some have long straight spines while others have hooked ones. The main reason is that it acts as a deterrent against browsers. Scientists have said that despite the thorns, some herbivores still feed on the trees, the thorn does not prevent foraging but limits overgrazing.

Strangler Fig – Ficus thonningii

The strangler fig is one of the most common hemiepiphytes. Is the towering strangler fig tree that begins life as a tiny seed in the canopy, named for its growth pattern on host trees. This leads to the death of the host, so the strangler fig grows into a “columnar tree” with a hollow central core, the tree can grow 20-70 feet tall.

Strangler figs are ecologically important in some tropical forests. The hollow centers of strangler figs are filled with spaces that provide shelter and nesting sites for bats, birds, and other animals. Perhaps more importantly, many shrikes are considered ‘key species’ as they provide food for a wide variety of animals in times of scarcity.

This tree is native to Africa, particularly Tanzania, where it is common in kopjes and along rivers in the Serengeti. The tree is also of cultural and medicinal importance to the indigenous people, where they are used to treat colds, sore throats, dysentery, wounds, constipation, nosebleeds and to stimulate lactation.

Wild Date Palm – Phoenix reclinata

Phoenix reclinata grows in a range of habitats, often seasonally in waterlogged areas such as along watercourses in areas of high rainfall, in riverine forests and even in rainforest areas. Phoenix reclinata can grow up to 12m tall but most often is between 3 and 6m. It can be either single or multi-stemmed and sometimes forms a dense, bushy clump.

Flowers and fruits: The fruits are up to 1-2.5 cm long, ovoid and reddish-brown to scarlet when ripe. The fruit is edible but tastes terrible while the thick, sugary juice is made into palm wine.

Toothbrush Tree – Salvadora persica

Salvadora persica L, also known as Arak (in Arabic) and Peelu (in Urdu), is the most common traditional source for dental or chewing sticks (miswak). To date, extensive studies have focused primarily on validating its traditional uses in oral care, is an evergreen shrub with a short trunk 4–6 m tall, smooth green leaves and white bark.

The fresh leaves are sometimes useful in salads and are also used in traditional medicine for coughs, asthma, scurvy, rheumatism, hemorrhoids and other ailments. The plant is native to the Middle East and Africa. You can spot them in desert floodplains, river banks, and grassy savannahs.

Euphorbia Candelabra – Euphorbia Candelabra

This is one of the most common trees during safari, Euphorbia candelabrum is a succulent tree with branches that arise from about 3 meters in height, are almost upright and branch out again to form a large, broadly rounded crown. The tree typically grows to 12 meters in height, although specimens have been recorded up to 20 meters.

It is one of the more poisonous spurges. The tree releases copious amounts of milky-white latex, which is very bitter and pungent, contains diterpenes, and is considered highly toxic due to its skin-irritating and carcinogenic effects.

Umbrella Thorn Acacia – Acacia tortilis

The bark is rough to the touch and gray to black in color. The tree has a combination of a straight thorn with a small hooked thorn next to it. The thorns are thin and grow in pairs. The flowers form in clusters of old wood. The flowers themselves are cream white balls. The pods are characteristically pale golden brown in color and are ruffled and twisted. The leaves are very small, giving the umbrella a soft, feathery appearance.

In extremely dry conditions, it can occur as a small, wiry bush. It grows up to 21 m high. The tree bears leaves that grow about. 2.5 cm (1 in) long with between 4 and 10 pairs of pinnae, each with up to 15 pairs of leaflets. The flowers are small and white, highly fragrant and occur in tight clusters. Seeds are produced in pods that are flat and coiled into a feather-like structure.

Yellow Fever Tree – Acacia xanthophloea

The yellow fever tree is a medium to tall, low-elevation tree that grows along or in water. The beauty of this tree comes from the clusters of 10 yellow globe flowers. Pieces of the rich, smooth, greenish-yellow bark flake off as the tree matures, giving the trunk an interesting, colorful pattern. Leaflets are 2.5–6.5 mm × 0.75–1.75 mm. Petiole glands are usually present at the base of the upper pairs of auricles. Spines are white, straight and strong, and arranged in pairs.

The common name comes from the misunderstanding of early settlers who thought the tree was the vector of malarial fever. Because the tree grew in swampy areas conducive to malarial mosquitoes, people associated the fever with the tree.

Contact our office to book your safari in Tanzania: [email protected] – WhatsApp +255765972458

SAVANNAH Location | Weather | Plants | Animals | people | Games | Left LOCATION: Savannas consist mainly of grasses and a few scattered trees. They cover half the surface of Africa, large areas of Australia, South America and India. That is a large part of the earth’s surface! Savannahs can result from climate change, soil composition, animal behavior or agricultural practices. People create savannas by burning grasslands and cutting down trees so they can grow crops. Large animals like elephants can turn a forest into a savannah by uprooting trees, removing bark from trees, and trampling on tree saplings. WEATHER: An important factor in the savannah is the climate. The climate is typically warm with temperatures ranging from 68° to 86°F (20 to 30°C). Savannas are found in areas where there is a 6 to 8 month wet summer season and a 4 to 6 month dry winter season. Annual rainfall ranges from 25 to 75 cm (10 to 30 inches) per year. During the dry season, lightning often strikes the ground and ignites the dry grasses that cover the savannah. PLANTS: The savannah is dominated by grasses such as rhodes grass, red oat grass, star grass, lemongrass and some shrubs. Most savanna grass is coarse and grows in patches with interspersed areas of bare soil. Due to the low rainfall, you will not see many trees in the savannah. Occasionally one finds single trees or small groups of trees. They usually live near streams and ponds. The acacia tree is an interesting plant in the savannah. It has an umbrella shape with branches and leaves high above the ground that giraffes love to eat. Baobab trees also live in the savannah. They cope with dry conditions by storing water between the bark and flesh of the tree. ANIMALS: There are many different types of animals that live in the savannah. The species found in savannas vary according to the geographic location of the biome. Animals native to African savannas include African elephants, zebras, horses, and giraffes. Many animals in the savannah are herbivores, meaning they eat plants, and there is a lot of grass in the savannah. During the rainy months, animals thrive on the savannah, but the rainy season lasts only half of the year. During the dry season, surface water from rain is rapidly absorbed into the soil by thirsty soils. Competition for water during the dry season is so intense that most birds and many of the large mammals migrate elsewhere in search of water. Depending on the severity of the drought, migration can be to a nearby or distant location. The dry season is often associated with fires. Many short-lived insects die in these fires, but the birds and larger animals can usually fly or get to safety. Although small burrowing animals are unlikely to be able to escape the flames, they often survive the fire by burrowing deep into the ground and staying there until the flames die out. Some birds, like the forked-tailed drongos, do not flee from the fires; They actually fly to the fires. For these birds, fire means dinner. They eat the fleeing or flame-roasted insects. PEOPLE AND THE SAVANNAH Some environmental issues related to savannas include poaching or hunting, overgrazing, and destruction of land for commercial cultivation. Many animals in the savannah, such as rhinos and zebras, are endangered and threatened with extinction due to hunting, poaching and habitat loss. The savannah is often degraded when used as grazing land for non-native domestic cattle. Cattle grazing also limits the amount of food available to wildlife. GAMES: Savannah Crossword

Savannah Crossword Solutions LEFT: Blue Planet Biomes: Savanna Enchanted Learning: Savanna Animal Printouts Smithsonian National Zoological Park: African Savanna for Kids

1. Students use perceptual sketches to illustrate their observations while listening to the National Geographic video “Ultimate Enemies”.

Tell students that they will be making perceptual sketches. Instruct students to close their eyes and listen to what they hear in the classroom. Have students listen carefully for one minute. Then ask them to draw symbols and shapes (not words) in their notebooks to describe what they heard. Have students share their observations aloud. Discuss similarities and differences in what they heard. Next, explain to the students that they will be creating another perception sketch, but this time they will listen to the National Geographic video “Ultimate Enemies.” Encourage students to listen and outline multiple levels of what they hear. After listening to the video, write the following questions on the board and have students share their observations aloud. Questions:

What symbols or shapes did you sketch? What do they represent?

What is the video about?

Where was the video made?

What animal species have you heard of?

What type of ecological community or ecosystem do you think is represented in the video?

Explain to students that the video is about a community of organisms that includes birds, lions, hyenas, and elephants. Explain that this special community lives in Botswana, Africa.

2. Students use perceptual sketches to illustrate their observations while watching the same video.

After listening to the video and discussing their perceptual sketches, students may not yet know the ecosystem type. Play the video again without telling the students the ecosystem type, but this time have them watch and listen as they record their observations and answers to the questions in their notebooks. Then discuss the students’ observations. Discuss the questions again, noting if the students’ answers have changed or refined. Explain to the students that the video is about organisms that live in an African savannah ecosystem. Explain that a savanna is a type of tropical grassland with scattered trees.

3. Build background on ecosystem ecology: environment and communities.

Draw a two-bar chart on the board and write the following headings: Terms and Notes. Then write the following terms in the left column: ecosystem, environment, organism/community, food chain, and food web. Give students the Two Column Chart worksheet or have them draw the chart and write the terms in their notebooks. In the right-hand column, next to the term ecosystem, have students write the ecosystem type (savannah) shown in the video. Next, have them write a description of the savannah’s environment next to the term “environment.” Ask: What are the inanimate components that characterize the ecosystem environment? Discover for students that environments are characterized by soil, water, temperature, sunlight, wind, and rain. Explain that the African savannah is also called tropical grassland. It has warm temperatures all year round and rainfall is seasonal and peaks in summer. The savanna is characterized by grasses and small or scattered trees that do not form a closed canopy and allow adequate sunlight to reach the ground. Explain to students that a group of organisms that interact under similar environmental conditions in a given region is called a community. Display the illustration of the African savannah ecosystem. Have students use the illustration and their video observations to record several organisms that make up the African savanna ecosystem.

4. Identify the food relationships of the African savannah: food chains and food webs.

Ask: What is a food chain? (A food chain is a group of organisms linked together in the order of their food, from producers to consumers, from prey to predators, and from scavengers to decomposers.) Using the two-column diagram, have students identify one or more food chains of organisms, you listed in step 3. Elicit responses that include organisms from different feeding levels: producers, primary consumers (herbivores), secondary consumers (carnivores), omnivores, decomposers, insectivores, scavengers, and detritivores. Use the African Savannah Illustration Key to write on the board at least two example food chains and label their food amounts. Ask: Why do food chains have arrows between organisms and not just straight lines? Determine for the students that the arrows represent the flow of energy and matter between the feeding planes. Be sure to point out the role of decomposers, omnivores, and other feeding groups that students may be less familiar with. Ask: What is a food web? How is a food web related to a food chain? Elicit from students that food chains show only one route of food and energy through an ecosystem. In most ecosystems, organisms can obtain food and energy from more than one source and may have more than one predator. Healthy, balanced ecosystems consist of multiple, interacting food chains, called food webs. As a class, have students practice combining two of the savannah food chains to create a food web.

5. Assign students roles in the African savannah ecosystem.

Tell the students that they will build their own African savannah community network based on the organisms and environmental factors they discussed and observed during the activity. Have students work individually or in pairs and assign them one of the organisms or environmental factors listed in the Background Information on the African Savannah handout. Tell them to use thread and index cards to create an ecosystem role map that includes what they represent (organism or environmental factor) and their relationship to other components of the savannah ecosystem. Students should write their organism/factor name on one side of the card and then list the types of interactions on the other side. Interactions with organisms can involve food relationships and resources that the organisms compete for or share with other organisms. Tell students that they should be able to say, “I am that (what they represent) and I am connected to (the relationship with other components of the ecosystem) because…”

6. Have students create a community web for the African savannah ecosystem.

Have students stand in a large circle with their ecosystem role cards visible. Have students take turns reading aloud from their card, “I am who…and I am connected to…because…” and toss the ball of thread to the environmental factor or organism (student) to which they are connected. Discuss relationships and keep building the community web until all roles are part of the web. Next, release a student from the string and discuss what would happen if that factor or organism were no longer part of the community web. Then release another connected student from the string. Focusing on the African savannah ecosystem, discuss the importance of all the threads holding the web together. Discuss how humans interact with the African savannah community. Ask: What is the role of humans in the ecosystem? (Humans are omnivores and consumers at the highest level. They use ecosystem resources and modify the environment, often competing with other organisms for food and space.) Ask: How do humans and big cats interact? What about the cattle? Explain to students that humans and big cats play similar roles in feeding relationships. They are both top carnivores and contribute to the balance of the ecosystem by consuming herbivores. Humans and lions also come into conflict because humans can kill lions and destroy or use lion habitat for livestock and agriculture. Big cats, in turn, can kill humans and their livestock and become competitors for food and space.