Grassland Animals

What is a grassland habitat

Grasslands are regions of the globe dominated by grasses, rush, and sedge. They are characterized by a dry climate that makes it difficult for large trees to grow. Grasslands can be found in all the continents other than Antarctica.

This type of habitat is classified mainly into temperate and tropical (savanna) grasslands, with some of the most well-known ones being prairies in North America, the savannas and veldts in Africa, pampas in South America, steppes in Eurasia, and rangelands in Australia, the last of which occupies about 75% of Australia’s landmass.

Comprising such a huge land mass, it is naturally home to numerous kinds of large and small animals, insects, and birds.

Grassland Animals List: What animals live in grasslands

Mammals

• Wolf (Ethiopian, Grey, Maned)
• Rhinoceros (Sumatran, White, Black, Javan, Indian)
• Hyena (Spotted, Brown)
• Tiger (Sumatran, Malayan)
• Bison (American, European)
• Jaguar (Pantanal, Bolivian, Paraguayan)
• Lion (Asiatic, African)
• Leopard (African, Indian, Persian)
• Deer (White-tailed, Fallow)
• Fox (Swift, Cape, Pampas)
• Armadillo (Nine-banded, Giant)
• Hare (African savanna, Ethiopian)
• Rat (Kangaroo, Papua grassland mosaic-tailed, African wading, Grassland mosaic-tailed rat, Snow Mountains grassland mosaic-tailed, Sloggett’s vlei, Sudanian grass, Angoni vlei)
• Golden mole (Highveld, Sclater’s, Hottentot, Fynbos, Arends’s, Rough-haired, Robust, Stuhlmann’s, Duthie’s, Sclater’s)
• Vole (Meadow, Prairie, Günther’s, Alai mole, Afghan, Montane, Beach, Caucasian snow, Robert’s snow, Creeping, Bank, Townsend’s)
• Shrew (Least dwarf, Elliot’s short-tailed, lesser Ryukyu, Fraser’s musk, Prairie, Cinereus, Common, Lucina’s, Mount Kenya mole, greater white-toothed, short-snouted elephant, Savanna)
• Hedgehog (Amur, European, Somali, Daurian, Long-eared)
• Weasel (African striped, Long-tailed)
• Hyrax (Yellow-spotted rock, Southern tree, Western tree)
• Elephant (African, Asian)
• Pronghorn
• Kangaroo
• Gazelle
• Blue wildebeest
• Giant anteater
• Przewalski’s horse
• Prairie dog
• Plains zebra
• African civet
• Cheetah
• Saiga antelope
• Coyote
• European rabbit
• Skunk
• Jaguarundi
• Impala
• Spotted bat
• Black-footed ferret
• Clouded leopard
• Aardwolf
• Nilgiri ibex
• Ratel (Honey badger)
• Jungle cat
• Hartebeest
• Bushpig
• Deer mouse
• Bush dog
• Giant river otter
• South American tapir
• African wild dog
• Black howler monkey
• Capybara
• Alpaca
• Brown bear
• Cougar
• Baboon
• Small-spotted cat
• Common genet
• Bandicoot
• Geoffroy’s cat
• Caracal
• Common duiker

Birds

• Duck (Northern pintail, Mallard, Northern shoveler, Garganey)
• Macaw (Scarlet, Hyacinth)
• Owl (Burrowing, African grass)
• Goose (Greater white-fronted, Greylag, Barnacle)
• Woodpecker (Red-headed, European green)
• Grouse (Sharptail, Greater prairie)
• Cockatoo (Sulpher-crested, Red-tailed black)
• Hawk (Ferruginous, White-tailed)
• Courser (Temminck’s, Three-banded)
• Crane (Black-crowned, Common, Blue, Demoiselle, Red-crowned)
• Dove (Mourning, White-winged, Long-tailed ground, Plain-breasted ground)
• Eagle (Chaco, Bald, Martial, Wedge-tailed, Golden, Short-toed snake, Long-crested)
• Whydah (Pin-tailed, Shaft-tailed)
• Flycatcher (Tyrant, Black-and-orange, African paradise, White-tailed blue, Marico, Pale, Chat, Suiriri, Ashy, African blue, Fiscal)
• Falcon (Prairie, Saker, Amur, Aplomado, Black, Altai, Grey, Lanner, White-rumped)
• Heron (Little-blue, Whistling, Capped, Black, White-necked, Rufous-bellied, Pied, White-faced, Indian pond)
• Bushshrike (Green-breasted, Orange-breasted)
• Ostrich (North African, Common, Somali)
• Pheasant (Green, Common)
• Starling (Superb, Emerald, Wattled, Common, Cape, Golden-breasted, Pied, Red-winged, White-collared)
• Stork (White, Wooly-necked, Maguari, Black-necked, Storm’s)
• Finch (Zebra, Star, Grassland yellow, White-winged diuca, Puna yellow, White-bridled, Wedge-tailed grass, Pampa, Yellow-bridled, Short-tailed)
• Caracara (Northern crested, White-throated, Chimango)
• Bustard (Great Indian, White-bellied, Kori, Denham’s, Little brown, Black-bellied, Great, Australian, Little)
• Bowerbird (Yellow-breasted, Fawn-breasted)
• Barbet (Usambiro, Acacia pied, Red-faced, Chaplin’s)
• Hornbill (Southern ground, Red-billed, Abyssinian ground)
• Harrier (Spotted, Marsh, Montagu’s, Northern, Hen, Long-winged, Réunion, Papuan, Malagasy)
• Kestrel (Nankeen, Spotted, American, Greater, Fox, Dickinson’s, Common)
• Swan (Tundra, Trumpeter)
• Turkey (Wild, Ocellated)
• Vulture (Rüppell’s, King, Cinereous, Black, Turkey, White-backed)
• Warbler (Pale-footed bush, Grass, Lanceolated, Chestnut-backed bush, Taiwan bush, Oriental reed, Rufous-eared, Cricket, Red-fronted, Buff-bellied, Arabian, Red-winged grey)
• Thrush (Nilgiri, Alpine, Mistle, Sentinel rock, Tristan, Groundscraper)
• Roller (Indian, Lilac-breasted, European)
• Quail (Common, Himalayan, Rain, Stubble, Scaled, New Zealand, Manipur bush, Rock bush, Northern bobwhite, Crested bobwhite)
• Buzzard (Grey-faced, Augur, Archer’s, Jackal, Mountain, Rufous-winged, Red-necked, Lizard, Long-legged)
• Shrike (White-tailed, Mackinnon’s, Emin’s, long-tailed, Great grey, Loggerhead, Magpie)
• Shrike-tyrant (White-tailed, Black-billed, Grey-bellied)
• Bee-eater (Green, Somali, Olive, Blue-cheeked)
• Thrasher (Long-billed, Curve-billed)
• Yellow cardinal
• Ruddy shelduck
• Secretary bird
• Bluebird
• Cape crow
• Raven

Reptiles

• Snakes: Boa (Rubber, Constrictor), Cobra (Chinese, Forest), Python (Indian, Ball, Reticulated, African Rock), Mamba (Jameson’s, Black), Garter snake (Butler’s, Aquatic, Blackneck, Western terrestrial, Butler’s, Blackneck), Rattlesnake (Western diamondback, Prairie, Eastern diamondback, Massasauga, Tiger, Grand Canyon), Fox snake (Eastern, Western), Kingsnake (Prairie, California), Glossy snake (Texas, faded), Adder (Common death, Mountain), Brown snake (Eastern, Ringed), Western hognose snake, Texas indigo snake, Egg-eating snake, Gaboon viper, Aurora house snake, Night snake, Eastern worm snake, Brown tree snake, Andean milk snake, Red-naped snake, Mole snake, Mulga snake, Texas rat snake, Western black-headed snake, Long-nosed snake, Coral snake, Thickhead ground snake, Kirtland’s snake, Ring-necked snake, Smooth green snake, Slowinski’s corn snake, Aesculapian snake, Arafura file snake
• Crocodiles: Nile crocodile, Dwarf crocodile, West African, Slender-snouted crocodile, Orinoco crocodile
• Alligator: American alligator
• Caiman: Cuvier’s dwarf caiman
• Tortoises: Leopard tortoise, Aldabra giant tortoise, Yellow-footed tortoise, Red-footed tortoise, Angonoka tortoise, Pancake tortoise, Serrated tortoise, Texas tortoise, African spurred tortoise
• Turtles: Box turtle (Ornate, Common, Eastern, Three-toed, Desert) African helmeted turtle, Arizona mud turtle, Wood turtle, Savanna side-necked turtle
• Lizards: Whiptail lizard (Desert grassland, Texas spotted, New Mexico, Chihuahuan spotted, Little striped), Grass lizard (Transvaal, Cape, Large-scale), Girdled Lizard (Giant, Mozambique, Rhodesian, Transvaal), Glass lizard (Slender, Koelliker’s), Rock lizard (Aurelio’s, Aran), Fence lizard (Western, Eastern, Southwestern), Lebombo flat lizard, Sicilian wall lizard, Western blue-tongued lizard, Southern alligator lizard, Checkerboard worm lizard, Plated lizard, Earless lizard, Western green lizard, Tyrrhenian wall lizard, Monitor lizard (Nile, Savanna), Emperor flat lizard, Spiny lizard, Desert horned lizard, Sagebrush lizard
• Skinks: Three-toed skink (Western, Algerian, Moroccan), Blue tongue skink (Merauke, Adelaide pygmy), Grand skink, Prairie skink, Chatham Islands skink, Gran Canaria skink, Western skink, Wedge-snouted skink, Copper skink, McCann’s skink, West Canary skink, Shingleback Skink
• Geckos: Common leopard gecko, Afghan leopard gecko, Okavango dwarf gecko, Transvaal rock gecko
• Chameleons: Flap-necked chameleon, Coarse chameleon, Marshall’s pygmy chameleon, Black-headed dwarf chameleon, Jewelled chameleon, African chameleon, Graceful chameleon, Senegal chameleon, Antimena chameleon, Meller’s chameleon

Amphibians

• Frogs: Tree frogs, Rubber frogs, Sand frogs, Rain frogs, River frogs, Ridged frogs, Grass frogs, Puddle frogs, Pygmy frogs, Booroolong frogs, Painted frogs, Cascades frogs, Plateau frogs, Burrowing frogs, Brown frogs, Darwin’s frogs, Tusked frogs, Wood frogs
• Toads: Cane toads, Guttural toads, Tibetan toads, Amatola toads, African red toads, Iranian earless toads, Gulf Coast toads, Western giant toads, American toads, Great Plains toads, Inyanga toads, Asiatic toads, Texas toads, African red toads, Douglas’ toads, Canadian toads, Oak toads, European green toads, Spadefoot toads
• Salamanders: Northwestern salamander, Gregarious slender salamander, Plateau tiger salamander, Lanza’s alpine salamander, Blunt-headed salamander, Sacramento Mountain salamander, California slender salamander, Black salamander, California tiger salamander, Granular salamander, Tarahumara salamander, Paramo Frontino salamander
• Newt: Coastal Range newt, Anderson’s crocodile newt, Wanggao warty newt, Southern banded newt

Insects

• Ants
• Beetles
• Cockroaches
• Bees
• Crickets
• Caterpillars
• Crane flies
• Stick bugs
• Wasps
• Fleas
• Worms

Adaptations

• Many animals have feet, paws, and snouts such that they can burrow into the ground to avoid the daytime heat and stay safe from predators in their otherwise open habitat.
• Most of these species have digestive systems especially evolved for processing grass, which forms a major portion of their diet.
• Numerous animals have body colors to help them blend in seamlessly with their grassland habitat.
• Some animals are nocturnal, adapted with keen eyesight enabling them to hunt in the dark without any difficulty.

Did You Know?

• Grasslands occupy nearly 25% of the earth’s surface.
• This habitat type is home to the fastest animal (cheetah), the largest terrestrial mammal (African bush elephant), the largest bird (ostrich), as well as the heaviest snake (green anaconda) in the world.
• The prairie grasslands found in North America have been reduced to about 2% of their original area due to urbanization, endangering the existence of the wildlife it supports.