Eli5 why are there so many large animals in Africa, but in other desert and arid environments animals stay small.

Question

Most dry climates you have small mammals and reptiles but in Africa you have buffalo, rhinos and elephants. Why?

In: Earth Science

Answer 1

All of the typical “large animals” you’re thinking of live in the savanna or in the rainforest. The Sahara and Namib deserts have far fewer diverse species, and those tend to look like the small mammals and reptiles you’d find in any other desert.

However, elephants and giraffes and stuff live in grasslands where there is plenty of food and water. Most of central africa is jungle and quite mountainous, then moving north/south you reach zones of slightly drier climate which is where the grasslands are, and further north/south you start reaching deserts.