Page 79 - World of Animals - Issue #41

Wildlife of the Asian Steppe
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A harsh existence
The Asian steppes are part of a wider network of
grasslands extending over the whole of central Eurasia,
o en known as ‘The Great Steppe’. The Central Asian
steppes cover much of Mongolia and Kazakhstan, and
also stretch into Russia and China.
The daily and seasonal temperature variations
are more extreme here than in some other steppe
areas. There can be a 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees
Fahrenheit) temperature change from day to night, and
as much as 70 degrees Celsius (158 degrees Fahrenheit)
difference between summer and winter. The extreme
temperature variations mean that animals living on the
steppes also need to deal with accompanying natural
threats such as drought, soil erosion and wildfires.
Although at first glance the vegetation appears to be
mainly just long grass, there is also an array of flowering
plants and spiny shrubs throughout the steppes. In some
areas, there are even pockets of small deciduous trees
such as aspen and poplars, particularly in the more
humid western steppes.
Many of the animals living here migrate, hibernate or
live underground in order to cope with the temperature
variations. Although there isn’t a huge amount of animal
diversity, the species that do live here o en do so in large
communal groups.
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