What Can Live in a Grassland? (First Step Nonfiction: Animal Adaptations)

by Sheila Anderson

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by Sheila Anderson

a Lerner Publications Company · Minneapolis

A grassland is a habitat. 2

It is where plants and animals live. 3

Animals have special adaptations. 4

These help them live in a grassland. 5

Bison have flat teeth for eating grass. 6

Their thick coats keep them warm during winter. 7

Zebras have striped coats. 8

Lions hunt zebras. But they can’t see stripes. The stripes make zebras hard to find.

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Ostriches have long legs for running. 10

They use their claws to defend themselves. 11

Giraffes’ long necks help them reach food. 12

Termites build mud homes to stay cool. 13

Elephants have long trunks. 14

They use their trunks to pull up grass. 15

Brown coats make lions hard to see in dry grass. 16

What other adaptations help animals live in a grassland? 17

Badger Adaptations

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Learn More about Adaptations Badgers hunt mostly at night. They use sharp teeth to eat small animals. Badgers use long, strong claws to dig holes in the earth. This is where the badger sleeps. Mother badgers also build nests for their babies in the holes.

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Fun Facts Prairie dogs have sharp front teeth for chewing grasses. They use claws to dig tunnels. Ground squirrels have striped coats that help them hide in dry grass. Cheetahs have long, powerful legs. They run fast to catch other animals that they will eat. The wings and good eyesight of vultures help them find food as they fly over grasslands. 20

Naked mole rats use large front teeth to dig tunnels. Golden eagles have sharp, hooked bills for eating small animals. Kangaroos can jump long distances using their powerful back legs. The rhinoceros has a large horn on its nose. This horn helps it fight against hunters. A grouse’s spotted brown feathers help it blend into a grassland. 21

Glossary adaptations – things that help a plant or animal live in a specific habitat claws – the sharp points found on the hands and toes of animals coats – layers of fur habitat – where a plant or animal lives

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Index claws – 11 coats – 6, 8, 9, 16 group – 9 legs – 10 necks - 12 run - 10 teeth - 5 trunk – 14, 15 23

Copyright © 2011 by Lerner Publishing Group, Inc. All rights reserved. International copyright secured. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the prior written permission of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc., except for the inclusion of brief quotations in an acknowledged review. The images in this book are used with the permission of: © Ned White/Dreamstime.com, pp. 2, 22 (4th from top); © John & Barbara Gerlach/Visuals Unlimited, Inc., pp. 3, 5; © Angelo Cavalli/ SuperStock, pp. 4, 22 (1st from top); © Greg Mcdade/Dreamstime.com, p. 6; © iStockphoto.com/ Ryerson Clark, pp. 7, 22 (3rd from top); © Chris Fourie/Dreamstime.com, p. 8; © Royalty-Free/ CORBIS, p. 9; © age fotostock/SuperStock, pp. 10, 13; © Olaf Protze/Alamy, pp. 11, 22 (2nd from top); © Michele Burgess/SuperStock, p. 12; © Geri Lavrov/SuperStock, p. 14; © Photodisc/ Getty Images, p. 15; © Dennis Donohue/Dreamstime.com, p. 16; © Paul Banton/Dreamstime .com, p. 17; © Laura Westlund/Independent Picture Service, p. 18. Cover: © Paul Banton/Dreamstime.com. Lerner Publications Company A division of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc. 241 First Avenue North Minneapolis, MN 55401 U.S.A. Website address: www.lernerbooks.com Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Anderson, Sheila. What can live in a grassland? / by Sheila Anderson. p. cm. — (First step nonfiction. Animal adaptations) Includes index. ISBN 978–0–7613–4574–9 (lib.bdg. : alk. paper) 1. Grassland animals—Adaptation—Juvenile literature. I. Title. QL115.3.A53 2011 591.74—dc22 2009025626 Manufactured in the United States of America 1 – DP – 7/15/10

eISBN: 978-0-7613-6258-6

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