Page 45 - SST Class 05

Unfortunately, these prairies have now been cleared for farming, which has caused
destruction of wildlife. Moreover, indiscriminate hunting has caused an extensive
damage to wildlife. Now, many animal species are already extinct. For example, once
the prairies were home to millions of bison but now they have almost vanished from
there, mainly due to game hunting.

The prairies are home to a diverse variety of seed-eating birds and birds of prey.
Bustards, hawks, owls,
eagles and falcons are some
of them. Similarly, insects
like grasshoppers, leaf-
hoppers and spiders are

found in large numbers Zebra Deer Rabbit Wolf
here.
Livestock is reared in
prairies, the important ones

include goat, sheep, horse,
cow, bullock and donkey
Jackal Bustard Hawk Owl
etc.

Lifestyle

The original inhabitants of the prairies were Red Know It!

Indians who led a nomadic life with their cattle. v In the prairies, special large bins, called
With time, a large number of Europeans have silos , are used to store wheat.
settled here. They have turned the vast prairies
into vast wheat fields. The farms cover thousands of acres. Thus, farming has become
their main occupation. In farming, all operations are performed by machines, such as
ploughing, sowing, reaping and winnowing.

A farmer in the prairies lives with his family on the farm. Wheat is produced on a very
large scale, which can meet the country’s need, also there is much surplus for export to
other countries. Due to abundant wheat farming, the prairies are called the Wheat
Basket of the World .

Besides wheat, other
important crops grown
here include corn, barley,
rye, oats, flax and
nutritious grasses like

alfalfa. Cotton is also grown
in the southern part. A farm in the US Silos Milking cows by machines

The Prairies : The Grasslands 45