SAVANNAH'S PREDATORS and preys: The African savannah is home to a diverse community of species that interact, forming a complex and ever-changing ecosystem. Multiple food webs are made up of carnivores, herbivores, producers, scavengers and decomposers that keep the savannah ecosystem healthy and balanced.Savannah grassland is characterised by drought-resistant shrubs and grasses, such as acacia and baobab trees, and carnivorous predators like lions, cheetahs, and leopards.
With the world’s greatest hoofed mammal diversity, the African savannah plays host to a multitude of well-known and charismatic herbivores such as plains zebra, black rhinoceros, greater kudu and several subspecies of giraffe, two of which are at risk of extinction. Savannah species all fill a particular niche within their ecosystem. For example, the SECRETARY BIRD feeds on insects, small mammals and snakes, while vultures and hyaenas scavenge for meat from large predator kills, and fork-tailed DRONES feed on insects flushed from the grasses by fires.Termites are important decomposers, breaking down dead plant and animal material to release much-needed nutrients into the ecosystem. The trampling of trees and grasses by elephants is also beneficial as it encourages the growth of other grasses that play an essential role in the diets of smaller herbivores.All living things depend on each other for survival, with changes in the size of one species’ population having the potential to affect all of the other species that share the ecosystem.