What is a Prairie? A prairie is a temperate grassland, plains of grass that get hot in the summer and cold in the winter. Most of the interior of North America was a prairie before European settlement radically altered the environment with agriculure. Even now, the prairie is a large area.

* Tall Grass Prairie - areas with rich soil, moderate precipitation and tall grasses (over 5 feet = 1.5 m tall)
* Short Grass Prairie - areas with little precipitation and short grass (less than 2 feet = 61 cm tall). These areas are usually unsuitable for agriculture.

Where are Prairies? Prairies are located in the interior of North America.

Animals that Live in Prairies: Many animals live in prairies, from invertebrates (like grasshoppers and beetles) to large mammals (like antelopes and bison).

* North America - American toad, badger, black-footed ferret, bison, black-tailed jack rabbit, bumble bee, burrowing owl, California condor, carrion beetle, common snipe, coyote, deer, dragonfly, eagles, eastern cottontail, elk, ferruginous hawk, fox snake, golden owl, gopher snake, grasshopper, gray wolf, ground squirrels, killdeer, lady beetle, larks, long-billled curlew, meadow vole, monarch butterfly, northern grasshopper mouse, prairie chicken, prairie dog, prairie rattlesnake, prairie skink, pronghorn antelope, red fox, red-tailed hawk, shrew, skunk, stink bug, tiger beetle, western meadowlark, western tiger swallowtail, white-tailed jack rabbit, and many other animals.

Bumble Bee

Carrion Beetle

Killdeer

Shrew

Prairie Chicken