There are grasslands in many places in the world. The huge grasslands of this biome are found in the interior of continents, on land that is gently rolling or nearly flat. This type of terrain soaks up the rain from summer thunder showers as it falls, so there are not many rivers. In America we use the buffalo and the prairie dog as symbols of our grasslands. The actual fauna is much more diverse, with antelopes, burrowing mammals, snakes, and ground nesting birds.
Predators range from grizzly bears to foxes and include hawks and owls.
Each grassland has its own animals, and they tend to live in similar ecological niches. Grasslands are subdivided into tall grass, medium grass, and short grass. Grass heights may be 30 inces tall or taller, or less than a foot in height. Shorter grass usually indicates that there is less available moisture, but, in some environments such as mountain tops, short grass may be adapting to a shorter growing season . Grasses are an important source of food for people as well as animals.