🌾 Savanna and grassland animal reports, grades 3–4
13 sheets, one animal each, so every child in a group gets a different one. Pick another set or one animal.
My report: the cheetah
Acinonyx jubatus · Grades 3–4
| Length | 5.8 to 7.4 ft (1.8 to 2.3 m) |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | 30 in (77 cm) |
| Weight | 75 to 141 lb (34 to 64 kg) |
| Top speed | 60 to 70 mph (96 to 112 km/h) |
| How long it lives | 8 to 10 years |
Read about it
A cheetah is built for speed: long legs, a light body and a bendy back that stretches with every stride. Its long tail helps it steer when it turns fast. It can only keep up its top speed for a short dash, then it has to rest.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- Smithsonian's National Zoo, Cheetah, nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/cheetah, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the lion
Panthera leo · Grades 3–4
| Length | 8.5 to 11 ft (2.6 to 3.5 m) |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | 3.5 to 4 ft (1.1 to 1.2 m) |
| Weight | 414 lb (188 kg) |
| Top speed | not checked yet: look it up! |
| How long it lives | 16 years |
Read about it
A pride is a family of lionesses, their cubs, and one or a few males. The lionesses usually hunt together, working as a team. A lion's roar is so loud it can be heard far across the grassland.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- US Fish and Wildlife Service, Federal Register 2015 (Listing Two Lion Subspecies), federalregister.gov/documents/2015/12/23/2015-31958/endangered-and-threatened-wildlife-and-plants-listing-two-lion-subspecies, checked 2026-10-30
- Smithsonian's National Zoo, Lion, nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/lion, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the african elephant
Loxodonta africana · Grades 3–4
| Length | not checked yet: look it up! |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | 13 ft (4 m) |
| Weight | 6 tons (5.4 tonnes) |
| Top speed | not checked yet: look it up! |
| How long it lives | 56 years |
Read about it
An elephant's trunk is its nose and upper lip together, with no bones in it. It can pick up a single leaf or spray water over its back. Elephant families are led by the oldest female, who remembers where to find water.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- Smithsonian Institution, "Africa's Elephant Kingdom" educator guide (PDF), si.edu/Content/SE/Educator%20Guides/AfricaElephantKingdom_edu_guide.pdf, checked 2026-10-30
- Federal Register (US Fish and Wildlife Service), federalregister.gov/documents/2024/04/01/2024-06417/endangered-and-threatened-wildlife-and-plants-revision-to-the-section-4d-rule-for-the-african, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the giraffe
Giraffa camelopardalis · Grades 3–4
| Length | not checked yet: look it up! |
|---|---|
| Height | 18 ft (5.5 m) |
| Weight | not checked yet: look it up! |
| Top speed | not checked yet: look it up! |
| How long it lives | not checked yet: look it up! |
Read about it
A giraffe's neck is very long, but it has the same number of neck bones as you. Its long, dark tongue wraps around leaves and pulls them off thorny branches. Giraffes sleep only in short naps, often standing up.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- Wikidata, from its cited reference, wikidata.org/wiki/Q15083#P2048, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the red kangaroo
Osphranter rufus · Grades 3–4
| Length | not checked yet: look it up! |
|---|---|
| Height | 5.9 ft (1.8 m) |
| Weight | not checked yet: look it up! |
| Top speed | not checked yet: look it up! |
| How long it lives | not checked yet: look it up! |
Read about it
A red kangaroo uses its long tail like a fifth leg when it moves slowly, and for balance when it hops fast. A newborn joey is tiny, no bigger than a jellybean, and crawls into its mother's pouch to grow.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- Smithsonian's National Zoo, How to Care for Wallabies, nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/news/how-care-wallabies, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the komodo dragon
Varanus komodoensis · Grades 3–4
| Length | 10 ft (3.1 m) |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | not checked yet: look it up! |
| Weight | 154 lb (70 kg) |
| Top speed | 9.9 to 12 mph (16 to 20 km/h) |
| How long it lives | 30 years |
Read about it
A Komodo dragon flicks out its yellow, forked tongue to pick up smells from the air, and can find food from far away. It is not a real dragon and can't breathe fire, but it is the heaviest lizard on Earth. Baby dragons live up in trees, where they are safer.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- Smithsonian's National Zoo, Komodo dragon, nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/komodo-dragon, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the grévy's zebra
Equus grevyi · Grades 3–4
| Length | 7.5 ft (2.3 m) |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | 3.9 to 4.9 ft (1.2 to 1.5 m) |
| Weight | 769 to 949 lb (349 to 430 kg) |
| Top speed | not checked yet: look it up! |
| How long it lives | 20 to 25 years |
Read about it
A Grévy's zebra has narrower stripes than other zebras, packed close together, and a plain white belly. Its big, round ears can turn to catch sounds across the open land. It lives in dry places and walks to waterholes to drink.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- Smithsonian's National Zoo, nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/grevys-zebra, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the white rhinoceros
Ceratotherium simum · Grades 3–4
| Length | not checked yet: look it up! |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | 5.6 to 6.1 ft (1.7 to 1.9 m) |
| Weight | 1.7 to 2.6 tons (1.5 to 2.4 tonnes) |
| Top speed | not checked yet: look it up! |
| How long it lives | 40 to 50 years |
Read about it
A white rhino has a wide, flat mouth that is just right for mowing short grass. It cannot see very well, but its hearing and sense of smell are sharp. In the heat of the day it rolls in mud, which cools its skin and keeps bugs away.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- US Fish and Wildlife Service, Federal Register 2013 (Listing the Southern White Rhino), federalregister.gov/documents/2013/09/11/2013-22132/endangered-and-threatened-wildlife-and-plants-listing-the-southern-white-rhino-ceratotherium-simum, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the meerkat
Suricata suricatta · Grades 3–4
| Length | 17 to 24 in (43 to 60 cm) |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | not checked yet: look it up! |
| Weight | 1.6 lb (725 g) |
| Top speed | not checked yet: look it up! |
| How long it lives | 10 years |
Read about it
A mob of meerkats lives in underground burrows that they dig with their long, strong claws. While the mob looks for food, one meerkat stands guard on its back legs and calls out if it sees a hawk or a snake. The others keep digging for insects with their noses to the ground.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- Smithsonian's National Zoo, Meerkat, nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/meerkat, checked 2026-10-30
- Wikidata, from Suricata suricatta, wikidata.org/wiki/Q134015#P2067, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the american bison
Bison bison · Grades 3–4
| Length | 10 to 13 ft (3.1 to 3.8 m) |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | 6 to 6.5 ft (1.8 to 2 m) |
| Weight | 1,000 to 2,000 lb (454 to 907 kg) |
| Top speed | 35 mph (56 km/h) |
| How long it lives | 12 to 20 years |
Read about it
A bison's hump is made of strong muscle. It helps the bison swing its big head from side to side like a snowplow to push snow aside and reach the grass underneath. Bison live in herds and roll in dusty patches of dirt to keep bugs off their thick fur.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- National Park Service, Bison subject page, nps.gov/subjects/bison/about.htm, checked 2026-10-30
- National Park Service, Wind Cave, home.nps.gov/wica/learn/nature/bison-buffalo-bison-bison.htm, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the pronghorn
Antilocapra americana · Grades 3–4
| Length | 3.7 to 4.6 ft (1.1 to 1.4 m) |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | 35 in to 3.3 ft (89 cm to 1 m) |
| Weight | 90 to 125 lb (41 to 57 kg) |
| Top speed | 55 mph (89 km/h) |
| How long it lives | 7 to 10 years |
Read about it
A pronghorn is not a true antelope, and it is not a deer: it is the only animal left of its own family. Its eyes sit on the sides of its head, so it can see far in every direction across open land. It has big lungs and a big heart, and light bones and long legs, built for running.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- National Park Service, Yellowstone, home.nps.gov/yell/learn/nature/pronghorn.htm, checked 2026-10-30
- National Park Service, Badlands, nps.gov/articles/000/pronghorn.htm, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the ostrich
Struthio camelus · Grades 3–4
| Length | not checked yet: look it up! |
|---|---|
| Height | 8.9 ft (2.7 m) |
| Weight | 198 to 300 lb (90 to 136 kg) |
| Top speed | 43 mph (69 km/h) |
| How long it lives | 30 to 40 years |
Read about it
An ostrich is too big and heavy to fly, so it runs instead. Its long legs carry it across open land, and its big eyes spot trouble from far away. A male has black and white feathers, while a female is soft gray-brown.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- Smithsonian's National Zoo, Ostrich, nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/ostrich, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the aldabra giant tortoise
Aldabrachelys gigantea · Grades 3–4
| Length | 36 in to 4 ft (91 cm to 1.2 m) |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | not checked yet: look it up! |
| Weight | 351 to 551 lb (159 to 250 kg) |
| Top speed | not checked yet: look it up! |
| How long it lives | 100 years |
Read about it
An Aldabra tortoise's long neck helps it reach leaves on low branches and bushes. Some of these tortoises live longer than the people who look after them. In the heat of the day it rests in shade or sinks into a muddy puddle to cool down.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- Smithsonian's National Zoo, nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/aldabra-tortoise, checked 2026-10-30