​African Savanna

Annual rainfall in the African savanna is about the same as in Wisconsin. Rainfall is divided into wet and dry seasons, unlike in Wisconsin where there are four seasons: spring, summer, fall, and winter. 

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Wet Season

The wet season is marked by an increase in rainfall resulting in an abundance of plants, water and food. Rivers and bodies of water flood and create critical new annual habitats for plant and animal species. A river running through an African savanna also supports forest growth. Seasonal rains force rivers over banks into vast floodplains. Plants normally limited to tropical rain forests border rivers that may run for hundreds of miles through hot, dry savanna. Many animal species find cover in river edge vegetation during the wet season. Predators move in from surrounding savanna when flood waters recede and the soil dries out. 

​Dry Season

The dry season lasts roughly eight months long. High evaporation rates dry the soils soaked by the summer rains. As the dry season begins, fires can often spread quickly through the dry grasses with only a few trees and shrubs surviving. The savanna, with all of its extremes, supports a diversity of wildlife. With many rivers drying up, animals from all over gather at the few remaining watering holes. Among these animals are predators that benefit from having their prey come to them. 

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