The Big 5

The term “Big Five” originally referred to the difficulty in hunting the lion, leopard, rhino, elephant and African buffalo. These five large African mammal species were known to be dangerous, and it was considered a feat by trophy hunters to bring them home. Today, however, the expression takes on a gentler form, referring to seeing the Big Five—not shooting them—during wildlife safaris on the African continent.

AFRICAN LION

Scientific Name: Panthera leo
Life Span: 10-14 years
Group Name: Pride
Conservation Status: Vulnerable

Not just in South Africa, the largest of the African cats, and the second largest in the family Felidae, with the tiger being the largest. The heaviest lion ever recorded weighed in at an astounding 375 kilograms.

AFRICAN LEOPARD

Scientific Name: Panthera pardus
Life Span: 12-17 years
Group Name: Leap
Conservation Status: Vulnerable

Solitary by nature, leopards spend most of their time alone unless , and patrol large territories. Crossing territories is usually only tolerated to cross territories for mating or raising cubs.

Leopards are pound-for-pound the strongest of the big cats. They are capable of carrying animals heavier than themselves, and even dragging them into trees. This ‘tree lardering’ protects the carcass against scavengers and allows a few days of undisturbed feeding.

Leopards are excellent at climbing trees. They’ll often safeguard their kill in a tree to prevent lions and hyenas from stealing it. They are also strong swimmers and occasionally eat fish and crabs.

RHINO

Scientific Name: Panthera leo
Life Span: 10-14 years
Group Name: Pride
Conservation Status: Vulnerable

The rhino is the most endangered species of the Big Five. Rhino poaching worldwide hit a 15-year high in 2009. The illegal trade is being driven by an Asian demand for horns, made worse by increasingly sophisticated poachers who are now using veterinary drugs, poison, cross bows and high caliber weapons to kill rhinos. Very few rhinos now survive outside national parks and reserves. Even though a black rhino’s skin can be up to 5 centimetres thick, it can still sunburn and is susceptible to bad bug bites. Wallowing in mud acts as a natural sunblock, a cooling agent and helps evict parasites.

AFRICAN BUSH ELEPHANT

Scientific Name: Loxodonta africana
Life Span: 60-70 years
Group Name: Herd
Conservation Status: Vulnerable

Already the largest and heaviest living land animal in the world, the largest elephant on record was an adult male who stood at 3.9 metres and weighed over 10 tonnes. To put this in perspective, the average car weighs 1.8 tonnes, an average one-story home is 2.5 metres tall. Elephants have no natural predators, yet the main risk to their livelihood is man. Poaching for the ivory trade is the biggest threat to their survival despite a ban on international sales ivory in 1989. African elephants communicate across large distances at a low frequency that cannot be heard by humans.

CAPE BUFFALO

Scientific Name: Syncerus caffer
Life Span: 15-25 years
Group Name: Herd
Conservation Status: Least Concern

Buffalo are known to be extremely social and live in large, mixed herds anywhere between 15 and 2 000 individuals. Horns are the most characteristic feature of a buffalo and can help distinguish the age and sex of an individual. When faced with predators, the herd will form a circle around younger, older or weaker animals, exposing their large and sharp horns as intimidation. African buffalo are very aggressive and kill more hunters than any other species. They are even known to kill lions, and can seek out and kill lion cubs as preventative punishment. This kind of violent and unpredictable behaviour has earned the nickname “the black death” Buffalo’s primary predator is the lion. Buffalo will try to rescue another member who has been caught. They have been observed killing a lion after it has killed a member of the group.

THE LITTLE FIVE

The Little 5 are not necessarily rare in the African wilderness. They were created by guides and rangers who wanted visitors to look at the smaller and more elusive species. They are the ant lion which is often found in sandy areas and is the size of an ant, the leopard tortoise, the elephant shrew which is an insect eating mammal with a long nose, the rhino beetle and buffalo weaver. The buffalo weaver is a common bird is often seen in acacia trees. The rhino beetle can be found with some help from your ranger.