Herbivore foraging site selection in Mapungubwe National Park

The African savanna is a biome driven by many ecological factors. While each has their own part to play, the most observable of these ecosystem drivers are the herbivores. The utilization of the savanna by herbivores results in a variety of patches within the landscape. These patches run the gauntlet from woodland to open grassland and everything in between. The bulk feeders such as elephants (Loxodonta africana) and white rhinos (Ceratotherium simum) are the most obvious and impactful of the herbivores, due to their generalist feeding habits and large size. Elephants greatly reduce vertical diversity of woody plant species by knocking down medium-sized trees and stripping the bark from others, exposing the vulnerable xylem to the periodic fires that rage through the savanna. White rhino crop the grasses of the savanna short, creating wide grazing lawns that often result in a shift of species composition in the area (Scholes et al. 2003).