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Awesome Serengeti African Savanna Fun Facts | Free Color By Number

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Today, I have some awesome Serengeti African savanna fun facts and a free color by number printable for your littles. Also, look at my Free Africa Unit Study for more hands-on ideas.

The Serengeti National Park is a fascinating ecosystem which supports a variety of amazing animals.

And the Serengeti is a huge national park in Tanzania, Africa.

Tanzania is in East Africa.

Awesome Serengeti African Savanna Fun Facts | Free Color By Number

Not only is Tanzania home to the Serengeti savanna, but it is home to the mighty Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest peak in Africa.

Next, explain that a savanna is a tropical grassland with scattered trees.

It is home to the great wildebeest and zebra migration where millions of animals migrate across the Serengeti in search of water and food.

Also, it is approximately 14,000+ square feet with an abundance of wildlife.

SERENGETI BOOK FOR KIDS

Next, look at some books about Africa on my post Free Africa Unit Study for Kids Who Love Hands-on Learning | Free Continent & Country Reports.

Serengeti: Plains of Grass

The Serengeti National Park is famous for its wildlife and the Great Migration.

Serengeti: Plains of Grass

Leslie Bulion, a virtuoso science poet, has created a portrait of the rainy season on East Africa's southern Serengeti Plain, offering young readers a compelling look at an ecosystem in motion. Using a series of interconnected verses inspired by an East African Swahili poem form—the utendi—Bulion's cadences and rhythmic lines mimic the web of life in the Serengeti, following the great migration of wildebeest, zebras, and other animals into and then out of the vast short-grass plain.

This book Serengeti: Plains of Grass is a beautiful book to highlight the diversity of wildlife and the beauty of the ecosystem.

Also, I have more posts about Africa.

MORE KIDS ACTIVITIES ABOUT AFRICA

Too, look at more African savanna fun facts.

AFRICAN SAVANNA FUN FACTS

You’ll love these African savanna fun facts to add to your unit study.

  • When saying the “Big Five”, it refers to animals: lions, elephants, leopards, buffaloes, and rhinoceroses.
  • The name “Serengeti” comes from the Maasai language. It means “endless plain.”
  • It’s a great place for birdwatchers too. It has over 500 bird species. One bird, the Lilac-breasted Roller is recognized for its vibrant beautiful colors. A few of the other species found there are the Greater Flamingo, Crowned Crane, African Grey Hornbill and cool Secretary Bird to name just a very few to dive in and learn about.
  • The Serengeti has a unique balance of predators like cheetahs and lions with prey like zebras and antelopes. This keeps the ecosystem balanced.
  • The Serengeti is a UNESCO World Heritage site. This means its recognized for the importance to conservation but also because of its beauty.
  • You can visit the Serengeti on a safari. This means to visit it and see animals in their natural habitat.
  • In addition, the Serengeti also has volcanic craters, rivers and woodlands. This provides abundant diversity for wildlife.
  • The Great Migration is driven by rainfall patterns.
  • The Maasai people have lived in the Serengeti region for centuries.
  • Over 3,000 species of plants are supported by the Serengeti. For example, giraffes love to munch on the leaves of the Acacia tree, and there is the Baobab, Lantana, sisal plant and elephant grass which is a favorite food for the elephants.
Awesome Serengeti African Savanna Fun Facts | Free Color By Number

These are just a very few African savanna fun facts that your kids will love.

HOW TO GET THE FREE COLOR BY NUMBER PRINTABLE

Finally, I have something for your littles to include in your study about the amazing African savannah.

It’s a subscriber freebie.

That means when you sign up to follow me, you get my emails in your inbox and you get this freebie.

1) CLICK HERE ON THIS LINK TO SIGN UP ON MY EMAIL LIST & TO GET THIS FREEBIE.

2) Grab the freebie now.

3) Last, look for all my emails in your inbox. Glad to have you following me!

6 Facts About Mountain Lions and How to Make a Fun Mountain Lion Diorama

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

I have 6 facts about mountain lions and a fun mountain lion diorama. Also, you may love the ideas on my post 6 World Wildlife Day Activities to Learn About African Lions.

Today, we’re making an upcycled mountain lion diorama that pairs perfectly with a mountain lion unit study.

Mountain lions have 40 different names. For example, look at these names.

  • Cougar
  • Mountain Lion
  • Puma
  • Panther
  • Catamount
  • Colorado Cougar
  • Texas Lion, and
  • Patagonian Puma to name a few.
6 Facts About Mountain Lions and How to Make a Fun Mountain Lion Diorama

They have the widest range amongst all the wild cats in the western hemisphere, covering parts of Canada, the United States, and most of the South American countries.

They make a beautiful and interesting subject for our latest diorama.

One thing I really love is a craft that uses recycled materials that we’re going to end up in the trash bin.

They’re likely to end up there eventually anyway but this gives a little bit longer life and saves a lot of money because we had to buy almost nothing for this project.

I used a science board I already had on hand from Dollar Tree but you can just use leftover cardboard from a delivery box.

You might need some small plastic animals if you don’t have any. I have a suggestion below that can be used for many things.

Before we jump in let’s learn a few facts about the mountain lion and what sets them apart from other cats in the wild.

Mountain Lion Diorama – 6 Facts To Pounce On

  1. Because their larynxes are different from those of other big cats, they never roar. Rather they sound more like a person whistling, a bird chirping, or even a woman screaming. You can listen to that eerie scream here. How eerie!
  2. The young look very different from mature cats, mountain lion cubs have blue eyes and dark spots when they are born.
  3. When you think of mountain lions you may think of slow, slinking creatures but they can run up to 50 mph.
  4. A mountain lion’s preference for prey is deer but as opportunistic predators, they will eat raccoons, elk, moose, antelope, mountain goats, horses, and bighorn sheep.
  5. They are amazing jumpers; they can jump as high as 18 feet off the ground.
  6. Mountain lions are not considered “big cats”, but they are the largest of the “small cats” at 90 to 175 pounds and standing 2’-3’ tall at the shoulder.

First, I like to grab my handy dandy anatomy books.

I was able to find information on panthers and mountain lions for comparison in our Wildlife Anatomy book.

6 Facts About Mountain Lions and How to Make a Fun Mountain Lion Diorama

In Nature Anatomy you can see a small excerpt on the mountain Lion but also information on mountains, some of its prey animals, and more.

6 Facts About Mountain Lions and How to Make a Fun Mountain Lion Diorama

Next, look at some more ideas for lion activities.

More Mountain Lion Activities

6 Facts About Mountain Lions and How to Make a Fun Mountain Lion Diorama

Finally, look how to make this mountain lion diorama.

How to Make a Mountain Lion Diorama

You will need:

  • Trifold science board
  • Brown paper bag/brown shipping paper
  • Styrofoam packaging
  • Green construction paper
  • Small pebbles and twigs with leaves
  • Green, blue, and tan craft paints
  • Hot glue gun
  • Small plastic animals
6 Facts About Mountain Lions and How to Make a Fun Mountain Lion Diorama

Once you have decided where your mountain lion is living, cougars like dense forests, coastal swamps, rocky cliffs, and mountain ranges as their habitat you can begin building.

I am walking you through creating a mountain diorama.

First, cut a trifold science board into half and then cut off half of that so you have just half of one flap and half of the center.

Next, cut off the other half of the centerpiece. We will use that for the base.

6 Facts About Mountain Lions and How to Make a Fun Mountain Lion Diorama

Paint the top blue like the sky and the bottom third a tan like your mountain color, tan for this model. Allow it to dry.

6 Facts About Mountain Lions and How to Make a Fun Mountain Lion Diorama

Grab the piece of cardboard you are going to use for your base and cover it in glue.

Crinkle up the green paper, smooth it, and press it into the adhesive on your board.

Crinkling gives your “grass” some nice texture.

6 Facts About Mountain Lions and How to Make a Fun Mountain Lion Diorama

Add additional color and texture with dabs of green paint if you like.

6 Facts About Mountain Lions and How to Make a Fun Mountain Lion Diorama

Once your background is dry, bend it so that it creates an L shape and adhere it to the base with a generous line of hot glue. Hold it in place until it sets.

6 Facts About Mountain Lions and How to Make a Fun Mountain Lion Diorama

Now, cut up your styrofoam to resemble mountain shapes.

6 Facts About Mountain Lions and How to Make a Fun Mountain Lion Diorama

Glue to the board.

6 Facts About Mountain Lions and How to Make a Fun Mountain Lion Diorama

Crinkle up a big piece of brown paper and then smooth it out as you did with the green.

6 Facts About Mountain Lions and How to Make a Fun Mountain Lion Diorama

Press all over the styrofoam to cover, glue in place, and add more as needed, trim off the excess.

6 Facts About Mountain Lions and How to Make a Fun Mountain Lion Diorama

Gather up the stones, moss, and twigs you have collected and glue them on the ground as well as up the mountain.

6 Facts About Mountain Lions and How to Make a Fun Mountain Lion Diorama

Add a water source coming down the mountain across the land, animals always like to stay near a good water source.

6 Facts About Mountain Lions and How to Make a Fun Mountain Lion Diorama

Place your mountain lion and a prey animal or two.

I think our mountain lion is stalking the thirsty raccoon who stopped for a drink.

6 Facts About Mountain Lions and How to Make a Fun Mountain Lion Diorama

6 World Wildlife Day Activities to Learn About African Lions

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

To celebrate National Wildlife Week, I have 6 world wildlife day activities to learn about African lions. Also, look at Easy Hands-on Science: Animal Camouflage Activity Hunt for more fun.

Lions are bold, beautiful, and powerful, making them fascinating subjects in books, movies, artwork, and in zoos.

Nearly all wild lions live in Africa.

6 World Wildlife Day Activities to Learn About African Lions

They prefer the grassy plains and open woodlands.

Grassy plains and open woodlands make an excellent hunting are and easy defense of a territory.

Also, they spend 16 to 20 hours a day sleeping and resting.

More African Wildlife Activities

  • The Genus Panthera includes four species- lions, tigers, jaguars, and leopards. Panther refers to different animals including leopards, mountain lions, puma, cougars, or jaguars.
  • Young lions begin as cubs with spots and rosettes that fade as they mature.
  • A pride of lions is most often made of females and their cubs, as well as a male or small group of males.
  • Lions are listed as “vulnerable” on the threatened species list. Sadly, there are thought to be as few as 23,000 lions left in the wild.
  • A lion’s roar can be heard up to 5 miles away.
  • Lions live anywhere from 8-25 years in captivity, maybe only up to 10 in the wild.
  • There is such a thing as a hybrid lion. The offspring of a lion and a tigress is a liger, and the offspring of a tiger and a lioness is called a tigon, and a leopon is the offspring of a lion and a leopard.
  • Females do 90% of the hunting for the pride while males stay behind for protection.

If you want a wonderful book which covers lions and so much more wildlife the newest installment of Julia Rothmans anatomy series is a must-have addition to your bookshelf.

6 World Wildlife Day Activities to Learn About African Lions

Wildlife Anatomy has so much to offer to wildlife studies that it can stand on its own as your spine.

Also, add some of these other books for fun literature reads or to learn facts about lions.

Fun Resources to Learn About Lions

Add some of these fun books to learn about African Lions and their habitat and geography.

Wildlife Anatomy: The Curious Lives & Features of Wild Animals around the World

In Wildlife Anatomy, Rothman captures the excitement and distinctive attributes of wild animals around the world. The book is packed with hundreds of her charming, original illustrations, detailing the unique features of animals of the rainforest, desert, grasslands, oceans, and much more. From lions, bears, and zebras to monkeys, mongoose, bats, elephants, giraffes, hippos, and much more, Rothman's visual guide covers all the key features, right down to the anatomy of a lion's claw and a wild horse's hoof. All the illustrations are accompanied by labels, intriguing facts, and identifying details, such as: When is a Panther Not a Panther? and What Makes Aardvarks So Odd? 

Bravelands #1: Broken Pride

A lion cast out from his pride. An elephant who can read the bones of the dead. A baboon rebelling against his destiny.

For generations, the animals of the African plains have followed a single rule: only kill to survive. But when an unthinkable act of betrayal shatters the peace, the fragile balance between predators and prey will rest in the paws of three unlikely heroes.

Born Free: A Lioness of Two Worlds

Joy Adamson's story of a lion cub in transition between the captivity in which she is raised and the fearsome wild to which she is returned captures the abilities of both humans and animals to cross the seemingly unbridgeable gap between their radically different worlds. Especially now, at a time when the sanctity of the wild and its inhabitants is increasingly threatened by human development and natural disaster, Adamson's remarkable tale is an idyll, and a model, to return to again and again

Library Lion

 A lion starts visiting the local library but runs into trouble as he tries to both obey the rules and help his librarian friend.

Lions at Lunchtime

"Where are the lions?" Jack wonders when the Magic Tree House whisks him and his sister to the vast plains of Africa. Before he can find out, Annie starts to help hundreds of wildebeests cross a rushing river. Next they follow a honey of a bird and meet an awesome Masai warrior. Jack hopes any lions will just stay away. Jack is about to be very disappointed…

National Geographic Readers: Lions

Roar with lions in this exciting reader. Through beautiful and engaging photos, kids will learn all about these majestic big cats. This level 1 reader is carefully leveled for an early independent reading or read aloud experience, perfect to encourage the scientists and explorers of tomorrow!

A Lion to Guard Us

Featuring a heroine with faith, courage, and a great deal of grit, this acclaimed historical fiction novel portrays the realities faced by three children hoping to find a new home in an unknown land.

Next, look at some activities to celebrate learning about lions.

6 World Wildlife Day Activities to Learn About African Lions

And if you’re studying about Africa, look at How to Make a Kids’ Fun Ceremonial African Tribal Mask to go with these hands-on lion activities.

World Wildlife Day Activities

  • Visit a local zoo or wildlife sanctuary and check out these beautiful big cats firsthand. Bring binoculars to get a closer view.

Pride of Place

6 World Wildlife Day Activities to Learn About African Lions

Then the difference between an Asiatic and an African Lion is another slant.

6 World Wildlife Day Activities to Learn About African Lions

And how fun is this Anatomy of a Claw.

6 World Wildlife Day Activities to Learn About African Lions

Too, When is a Panther Not a Panther.

6 World Wildlife Day Activities to Learn About African Lions

Finally, learn about the Predator versus Prey relationship.

6 World Wildlife Day Activities to Learn About African Lions

As you can see this book covers lions well, but you will find a lot of animals and information in it including ecosystems, food webs, hunting, and animals from the adorable panda to hippos and many in between.

  • Celebrate Lions all week by snuggling up with a read-aloud every day.
  • Turn this little pride into a wonderful dramatic play addition, add it to a sensory bin, use them as drawing inspiration, or hide them around the house or outdoors, and play “hot and cold”.
  • Open your atlas and find Africa, this DK First Atlas was a great resource for a large map with details and photos.
  • 9 Grab some popcorn and settle down, and watch The Lion King together.

World Wildlife Day Activities Create LEGO Lion Portrait

Next, do this easy hands-on lion activity.

You can use whatever LEGO you have on hand at home, but we did this using only the bricks found in this Large Creative Brick Basic Box to make it easier to find the pieces we needed.

However, feel free to encourage your child to substitute and make it work for them.

 You will need:

  • Small LEGO Baseplate
  • Yellow and brown LEGO
  • LEGO eyes
  • Lion picture for inspiration.

Directions:

Build the basic face shape in the center of the baseplate by starting just below the centerline, creating a 4×6 rectangle with yellow bricks.

Place one 2×6 centered underneath and 2 single yellow bricks at the top on either side for ears.

6 World Wildlife Day Activities to Learn About African Lions

Create the lion’s mane by filling in all the way around the yellow basic face shape with brown bricks.

6 World Wildlife Day Activities to Learn About African Lions

Add two eyes.

Place one 2×2 yellow brick in the center for a muzzle, top with a single brown round stud for the nose.

Put a 2×6 brick under the center of the main.

6 World Wildlife Day Activities to Learn About African Lions

That’s it, your fantastic lion is ready to be admired.

Encourage older children to build something more complex, either a more detailed portrait or even perhaps a 3D lion laying out surveying the grasslands like this one.

6 World Wildlife Day Activities to Learn About African Lions