Audrey Bedics, age 10, of Northampton, Pa., for her question:

WHAT IS A SAVANNAH?

A savannah is a flat, almost treeless grassland of tropical or subtropical regions: In South America are abundant savannahs where the grass often grows taller than a man. These are mainly found in Brazil, Colombia and Venezuela, although Bolivia, Paraguay and Argentina have savannahs also. In Africa vast savannahs border the tropical rain forests. The climate is hot and drier than forest regions, but trees growing here and there in the wet, fertile ground dot the landscape. The thick, coarse grass makes travel almost impossible except by roads cut through the vegetation.

The savannah is home to great herds of animals ¬elephants, zebras, giraffes and antelopes of many varieties. All of them live on the tender grass and the juicy leaves of trees. Keeping the grass eaters on their toes are the meat¬ eaters that also live in the savannah  lions, leopards, cheetahs and hyenas, to name a few.