27
Montevideo
Location
The pampas lies mostly in
Argentina, stretching into
Uruguay. Although it is
warm and humid here, the
summer dry season often
brings wildfires.
HABITAT KEY
Temperate
grasslands
Wetlands
Tropical
grasslands
Mountains
SCALE
100 kilometers
0
0
100 miles
Burrowing owl
The burrowing owl usually lives
in abandoned burrows dug
by other animals. It piles
mammal dung around the
entrance to attract dung
beetles, which are one
of its favorite foods.
URUGUAY
Buenos Aires
This lizard gets up to
41 ⁄ 2 ft (1.4 m) long. During
the day it hunts for snails,
spiders, and insects.
About the size of a
domestic cat, Geoffroy’s
cat hunts for rodents
and birds, as well as
frogs and fish.
Geoffroy’s cat
Pampas grass can grow
up to 8^1 ⁄ 2 ft (2.6 m) tall!
The “plumes” on top
are its flowers.
Pampas grass Millions of these deer
once roamed the
pampas, but today they
have to compete with
cattle and humans
for space. Pampas deer
This large rodent has
thick, soft fur. Several live
together in enormous
underground burrows.
Plains vizcachas
Assassin bug
The male pampas meadowlark’s
chest is brightly colored.
Pampas meadowlark
This endangered pampas bird
likes to nest on the ground in
groups. More than 60 nests
have been found in one area,
all clustered together.
A
T
L
A
N
T
IC
O
C
E
A
N
Paraná
Salado
RÍ
O
(^) D
E
(^) L
A
PL
A
TA
N
S
W E
Related to polecats
and wolverines, the
feisty lesser grison
is excellent at
hunting rabbits.
The kingfisher plunges
headfirst into streams
and rivers to catch
small fish.
Amazon
kingfisher
Lesser grison
US_026_027_Temperate_Pampas.indd 27 31/03/2017 14:48