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Big Five
Even though you know that Africa and South Africa are so much more than the Big Five, the familiar images soon begin playing in your mind: lions roaring; elephants trumpeting; buffalos lurking in long grass; rhinos standing stately under a thorn tree; leopards prowling in the gathering darkness.
You’ve seen the Big Five in books and you’ve seen them on TV. But it’s time to come and see them for yourself. The real thing. In person.
And there’s no better place for this than South Africa, which offers the most exciting, memorable and exhilarating experience of your life – coming face to face with the Big Five.
Origin of the name
How did these five animals – the lion, elephant, buffalo, rhinoceros and leopard – come to be called the Big Five?
It was originally a hunting term used by the so-called ‘great white hunters’ in the hunting heyday of the 19th and early 20thcenturies, when professional hunters bagged as many trophies as possible in as short a time as possible.
Considered a rite of passage for seasoned travellers, everybody from American presidents to European royalty and heads of state came to Africa to shoot a large, dangerous animal.
The Big Five quickly became known as the most dangerous animals to hunt on foot, and the name stuck – although now ‘shooting’ is done through a camera lens.
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From Targets to Tourist Attractions: Understanding and Protecting the Big Five in South Africa
The Big Five are a big deal. Synonymous with safaris, this term carries with it a distinct whiff of excitement and adventure. It wasn’t always about merely spotting animals, however – the phrase goes back to the Colonial Era and was once a hit list rather than a safari checklist.
So, what are the Big Five and how did these animals come to be revered above the rest?
Introducing the Big Five
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Big Five refers to African lions, leopards, rhinoceros, elephants, and Cape buffalo.
The phrase today is usually used to market safaris, but was first coined by big-game hunters more than 100 years ago. In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, everyone from European royalty to American presidents wanted to bag an African hunting trophy. The larger and more unpredictable the beast, the better – which is how the Big Five became famous.
The Big Five may be dangerous, but they aren’t invincible. African lions, leopards, and elephants are all classed as Vulnerable by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. The black rhinoceros is Critically Endangered and the Southern white rhino is Near Threatened, while the Northern white rhino is on the verge of extinction. The Cape buffalo is of the least concern in terms of conservation, but this also makes it the most popular animal to hunt. Hunting, poaching, and habitat loss combined mean the Cape buffalo’s population is also on the decline.
Where can you find the Big Five?
South Africa is a premier destination for viewing the Big Five.
Around 80 percent of Africa’s remaining wild rhino population live in South Africa, according to CITES, along with an elephant population of approximately 12,000 – a major recovery from a mere 120 in 1920. There are roughly 20,000 lions left in South Africa (down from 200,000 at the turn of the twentieth century), while leopard numbers are estimated at around 4,500.
Tourists have a good chance of seeing the Big Five in many of South Africa’s national parks and private reserves. To get a closer look and better understanding of the Big Five, a volunteer program is a great alternative to a safari. Volunteering in a wildlife reserve in the Kruger Area will give you plenty of opportunities to observe the animals in their natural habitat. No safari tour can compare to monitoring the behavior of elephants and rhinos alongside an expert conservation team!
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The Big Five then and now: How has game hunting changed since colonial times?
There is still an active trade in legal hunting in Africa. South Africa is the biggest game hunting destination in the world. This practice however has undergone significant changes in implementation and public perception over the last century.
Four of the Big Five can be hunted in South Africa – the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) banned leopard hunting in 2016. A lioness is typically the cheapest of the ‘set’ to bag, costing around $9,000 to hunt, while a white rhino can cost more than $125,000, says a report by the Natural Resources Committee.
Back in colonial times, big game hunting had connotations of aristocracy and glamour. Today, game hunting still belongs to the elite and privileged, thanks to the hefty price tags, but for the most part associations of prestige and sportsmanship have been stripped away. Outside of hunting cliques, public opinion leans towards disgust over the killing of the Big Five.
Given the widespread disapproval and population perils facing the Big Five, game hunters have shifted the way they present the practice. Supporters insist that hunting is helping to protect, rather than destroy, the animals.
The Influence of Big Five game hunting on South Africa’s economy and conservation
Remember Cecil the lion? This big cat’s death and subsequent photo of a dentist gloating over his body triggered outrage around the world and deeper examination of big game hunting in Africa. Arguments surrounding modern game hunting are heavily polarized.
Defenders of game hunting say it can aid conservation efforts by generating revenue necessary to protect animals and their habitat – in many areas, land would be used for agriculture if it wasn’t for commercial hunting. Hunters also argue that they are helping to control animal populations and support local communities by providing jobs and income. This in turn could motivate people to protect animals from poaching.
Critics argue that minimal profits reach local communities, and that whether or not hunting supports conservation relies on the appropriate management of funds raised and sustainable allocation of animal quotas. Inadequate monitoring makes these factors difficult to control.
Either way, trophy hunting is big business in South Africa. According to Africa Check, around 8,500 trophy hunters visit South Africa each year, compared to 9.5 million tourists. These hunters spend more than the average tourist, averaging around $10,000 per hunting trip. Trophy hunting generates an estimated $100 million a year, says South Africa’s DEA.
Game hunting might help conservation when managed appropriately, but there are ways to help the Big Five that are much more appealing to animal lovers.
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What can you do to help preserve the Big Five?
Wildlife lovers can assist in conservation efforts, either as tourists or volunteers. Tourists who come to shoot the Big Five with a camera lens rather than a weapon play an important role in conservation. The safari industry generates income to protect parks and reserves, provides jobs for locals, and incentivizes wildlife conservation.
Volunteering with animals in South Africa is an even more direct way for you to help in thier conservation.
Wildlife conservation centers and safari reserves act as hubs for education, provide refuge for orphaned and injured creatures and facilitate breeding programs to ensure the future of the Big Five. Volunteer program fees at these centers contribute toward running costs, and volunteers themselves return home as ambassadors for animal conservation.
Sound good? We might have just the ticket for you.
GoEco’s Big Five Volunteer Programs
GoEco offers several options for animal lovers keen to enounter the Big Five in an ethical and sustainable way. You can choose to carry out research on elephants, contribute to wildlife conservation efforts by adding your own snaps to a photographic database, or geo-track elusive species. Each project is structured around learning more about and protecting Africa’s unique and beautiful animals. Volunteering in South Africa is a great opportunity for personal and professional growth. You’ll develop practical skills and gain comprehensive wildlife knowledge, all while living in some of the continent’s most stunning wilderness areas.
If you’re feeling the call of the wildlife and want to get directly involved in Big Five conservation, reach out to us today to find out more about volunteering with South African animals.
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Sources:
http://www.cites.org/sites/default/files/eng/cop/11/prop/20.pdf
http://www.panthera.org/cat/lion
http://africacheck.org/factsheets/factsheet-how-much-does-hunting-contribute-to-african-economies/
http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/aa854b/pdf
http://www.savetherhino.org/rhino_info/rhino_population_figures
http://conservationaction.co.za/resources/reports/effects-trophy-hunting-five-africas-iconic-wild-animal-populations-six-countries-analysis/
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/08/10/world/africa/africa-big-game-hunting.html
http://conservationaction.co.za/resources/reports/effects-trophy-hunting-five-africas-iconic-wild-animal-populations-six-countries-analysis/
http://www.thedodo.com/does-hunting-help-conservation-1389284014.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_five_game
http://businesstech.co.za/news/lifestyle/127055/how-much-it-costs-to-hunt-the-big-five-in-south-africa/
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-safrica-leopards/big-5-off-the-cards-as-south-africa-closes-2016-leopard-hunting-season-idUSKCN0WF07C
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The Big Five
The Lion
The lion is arguably the most sought-after of the Big Five because it is synonymous with an African safari. Charismatic, powerful and beautiful, everybody wants to see the appropriately named 'King of the Beasts'.
Once, hundreds of thousands of lions roamed the world, but today conservationists give approximate numbers of between 25 000 and 30 000 left, most in sub-Saharan Africa. In South Africa, your chances of seeing lions are high, whether in our national parks or in private game reserves.
Lions are creatures of the savannah and open plains (you’ll rarely find them in a forest) and function in prides, usually numbering about five to 15, depending on the territory – although the Kruger National Park is known to have at least one big pride of up to 25 animals.
They are social family animals – related females rule, usually alongside a large dominant male that has won the pride in fierce competition with other males. Lionesses stay with the pride, while young males leave at two to three years of age. Males sometimes form coalitions to enhance their hunting success, but you’ll rarely see one with more than four lions.
Lionesses start breeding at four years old, and typically give birth to a litter of three or four cubs after 14 to 15 weeks of gestation. Lionesses of the same pride often give birth at or near the same time as their ‘sisters’, which allows for communal suckling and round-the-clock care.
And don’t expect to see an old lion – they are defeated in battle, often die of their wounds or are no longer able to hunt. Lions are in their prime from five to nine years of age. Male lions, once they’ve taken over a pride, have to work hard to keep it. Younger males – with attitude – are always on the sidelines.
Some prides specialise in hunting certain animals and develop specialised skills for this prey of choice – young elephants, ostrich, wildebeest.
Lions have no natural enemies other than hunters, although lion cubs fall prey to nomadic male lions that kill them in attempting to take over a pride. Hyenas, leopards and wild dogs also kill lion cubs.
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The Elephant
The Elephant
Perhaps it’s the African elephant that should be called ‘King of the Beasts’ – it is the world’s largest and heaviest land animal. Its ears alone measure up to 2m x 1.2m (roughly the size of the surface area of a double bed) and can weigh up to 20kg (44lb) each, while it can grow to a height of more than 3m.
Elephants abound in South Africa – you can see great herds of more than 100 in the Kruger National Park or smaller breeding herds in private reserves.
Elephants are highly social animals and females rule. A herd will typically have a matriarch with vast cultural knowledge that leads the herd, keeps it under control and chooses its direction and pace. Even when feeding (and an adult elephant, arguably nature’s most versatile vegetarian, can eat up to 300kg of grass, bark, branches and foliage a day), the herd rarely strays far from the matriarch.
Young bulls leave the herd when they become teenagers and either live alone, form bachelor herds or seek the company of old lone bulls that have long left the herd.
Your first sighting of a tiny baby elephant will be one of your most indelible memories. How do these small creatures, some not yet reaching up to their mother’s tummy, avoid being stepped on or crushed by the herd? Mother, sisters, aunts and cousins are always on the alert. Watch how mothers protect their babies by always putting themselves between danger and their offspring, and how the whole herd immediately goes into protective group defence mode when threatened.
If an elephant trumpets, you’ll certainly hear it, but the infrasonic tummy rumbles they use to communicate with one another are most often too low for the human ear to pick up – although research shows that these calls have an elephant range of up to several kilometres.
And just because elephants are huge, don’t think they are slow; if a herd takes fright, or needs to move on quickly, elephants can reach speeds up to 40km/h – faster than you can run.
Elephants love water. To see a herd drinking, playing, splashing, swimming and dunking in the water will be another of your favourite safari memories.
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The Buffalo
The Buffalo
Don’t be fooled by the docile appearance of the Cape buffalo (also known as the African buffalo). This mean, moody and magnificent animal is possibly the most dangerous of the Big Five, especially if you are on foot.
Robert Ruark, the American novelist, wrote that ‘a buffalo always looks at you as if you owe him money’. Come face to face with a buffalo (preferably from the safety of a vehicle), and you’ll see exactly what Ruark meant – the stare is cold, calculating and cunning.
Buffalos are social animals and move around in large herds – sometimes of many hundreds – chomping long grass as they collectively move and feed. In the dry season, you can often see a cloud of dust signalling an approaching herd.
Buffalos have to drink daily, and to witness a large herd approaching a waterhole – often in the early morning or late afternoon – is a memorable and noisy experience.
It’s quite easy to tell the males from the females. The males are blacker, bigger and have huge powerful horns that are joined in the middle to form a ‘boss’. When buffalos fight for rank and females (buffalos are non-territorial and don’t fight for territory like some others of the Big Five), the noise of the clashing and crashing of their bosses is awesome. It is estimated that the impact of their horns’ collision is equal to a car hitting a wall at 50km/h.
Females are smaller, more reddish-brown in colour, and their much narrower horns don’t meet in the middle. Calves are usually born in the rainy season, and although they can stand up on wobbly legs immediately, it takes several weeks until they can keep up adequately with the herd.
Although most of a buffalo’s senses are well developed, it’s their super-charged hearing that helps them find food and alerts them to danger. There’s usually a dominant male – or more if the herd is huge – that stays in the middle of the herd, as well as ‘pathfinders’, which may not be the biggest and best, but lead the herd and keep it together.
You may also see a group of old bulls together – caked in mud from wallowing.
These are known as ‘Dagha Boys’ after the ‘dagha’, or mud, the Zulus used to build their traditional huts.
It’s quite easy to tell the males from the females. The males are blacker, bigger and have huge powerful horns that are joined in the middle to form a ‘boss’. When buffalos fight for rank and females (buffalos are non-territorial and don’t fight for territory like some others of the Big Five), the noise of the clashing and crashing of their bosses is awesome. It is estimated that the impact of their horns’ collision is equal to a car hitting a wall at 50km/h.
Females are smaller, more reddish-brown in colour, and their much narrower horns don’t meet in the middle. Calves are usually born in the rainy season, and although they can stand up on wobbly legs immediately, it takes several weeks until they can keep up adequately with the herd.
Although most of a buffalo’s senses are well developed, it’s their super-charged hearing that helps them find food and alerts them to danger. There’s usually a dominant male – or more if the herd is huge – that stays in the middle of the herd, as well as ‘pathfinders’, which may not be the biggest and best, but lead the herd and keep it together.
You may also see a group of old bulls together – caked in mud from wallowing.
These are known as ‘Dagha Boys’ after the ‘dagha’, or mud, the Zulus used to build their traditional huts.
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The White Rhino
The White Rhino
Your first impression will be of its bulk and size. And then you may wonder how such a prehistoric-looking animal has existed for so many millions of years. Although unfortunately, the brutality and intensity of present-day poaching is a serious threat to the continuing survival of the species.
The second-largest land mammal, the white rhino’s name has nothing to do with its colour. It was the early Dutch settlers who referred to the animal’s broad lips as ‘wyd’ (wide), misinterpreted later as ‘white’.
This is a remarkable animal, weighing in at nearly 2 500kg (about 5 500lb) and often living up to 40 years of age. Because it is a grazer, eating thick, tough grass, it needs lots of water to digest its food, and needs to drink at least once daily. Sometimes you’ll see a rhino eating mud or soil, which acts as a dietary mineral supplement.
Its horn is used for fighting and defence and is not attached to the skull in any way.
Females live together in small groups, individuals breaking away when a determined bull decides to mate. Only one calf is born to a female at a time; the cow is very protective of her calf and will fight off an aggressive bull if necessary.
The calf always runs in front of its mother if they are fleeing from danger (a black rhino calf, on the other hand, will run behind its mother).
You’ll often find a white rhino resting in shade in the heat of the day or wallowing in mud. The dried mud acts as a sunscreen, a cooling agent and helps evict parasites that break off with the dried mud.
Look out for rhino middens beside the road. These are huge heaps of dung, used regularly by a particular male rhino to mark his territory. Females and non-dominant bulls also defecate on these middens, which act as markers and information signals to other rhinos.
Rhinos have poor eyesight but a fantastic sense of hearing and smell; watch a rhino’s ears – they constantly rotate in all directions as it works out what’s going on around it. And don’t think that because it’s so big and ungainly it’s a slow animal. If it’s running away (or chasing you), it can reach speeds of 40km/h.
The Black Rhino
The black rhino is smaller than its larger ‘white’ relative, is more solitary and elusive, and has a shorter head and beak-shaped lip that it uses for browsing leaves and twigs. Regarded as a more dangerous animal than the white rhino because of its volatile temperament, it is now one of the most endangered animals in Africa.
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The Leopard
The Leopard
The one animal everybody wants to see – beautiful, charismatic, sexy and dramatic – and also the most elusive. The leopard is a solitary animal (unless mating, or a mother with cubs) and will, whether male or female, fiercely defend its own hunting territory from other leopards.
Considered to be one of the most successful, if not the most successful, of all African predators, the leopard is a master stalker. If you are lucky, particularly on a night drive (as leopards are nocturnal animals), you may see a leopard stalking its prey – silently, ruthlessly – before getting to within 5m of the prey and then launching itself with a powerful spring. Surprise is its chief means of attack.
Leopards often athletically drag their prey up into trees (sometimes the dead animal is as heavy as the leopard) to avoid having it pirated by other animals, particularly lions and hyenas.
Look out for thick overhanging branches of big old trees – you may well find a leopard snoozing there during the hottest part of the day, or snacking on its prey.
Leopards take great pains to advertise their territories by scent marking, scraping the ground and defecating in exposed spots. They try to avoid confrontation with other leopards (unless protecting their territory) because, as solitary hunters, they can’t afford to get injured.
Leopards make great mothers and take excellent care of their offspring, moving them from one place of safety to another when the cubs are very small – just as well, because young cubs are vulnerable to other leopards, lions, hyenas and wild dogs. Take a look at the black markings behind the ears and white tip of a mother’s long tail – these are signals for small cubs to follow.
That long tail is also used as a rudder for balance when the leopard is climbing a tree or hunting. A leopard also has long whiskers that it uses as antennae to judge spaces between bushes and trees – an essential tool for an animal that hunts at night.
What are Africa’s Big Five?
Black rhinoceroses stand in the savanna in Kenya's Lewa Wildlife Conservancy. There are fewer than 6,000 black rhinos left in the wild, though their population is on the rise.
Photograph by Frans Lanting, Nat Geo Image Collection
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What are Africa’s Big Five? Meet the continent’s most iconic wildlife
Once mostly targeted by hunters, these large species are “awe-inspiring” sights for safari-goers.
ByLiz Langley
July 26, 2019
•5 min read
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If you’ve gone on an African safari, chances are you’ve heard of the Big Five, the must-see list of iconic megafauna.
Lions, leopards, elephants, African buffalo, and rhinoceroses are “what people think of when they think of Africa and wildlife,” says Natalia Borrego, a research associate at the University of Minnesota Lion Center.
The term, coined in the late 1800s during Africa’s colonial period, refers to what trophy hunters considered the most challenging and dangerous animals to hunt on foot.
These animals are still hunted today, but a shift toward tourism has also made seeing the Big Five an “awe-inspiring” goal for any safari-goer, Borrego says.
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Africa’s Big Five Animals: What Are They?For a continent that is known for its amazing wildlife, these are the biggest of the big. These magnificent beasts are Africa's "big five." Learn photo tips for heading on safari in Botswana
That’s especially true because all of these species are decreasing in population—lions in particular are struggling, having lost 94 percent of their original habitat. Only about 20,000 of the big cats remain in the wild.
Here’s are some fascinating facts about the Big Five.
Leopard
This is the most elusive, and also the smallest, of the five. “I call them ninja cats because they’re just sneaky and they’re harder to spot,” Borrego says.
Speaking of spots, most leopards are light-colored, with distinctive dark spots that are called rosettes. Black leopards, which appear to be almost solid in color because their spots are hard to distinguish, are commonly called black panthers.
The solitary big cats haul large kills, such as zebra or antelope, into a tree to eat alone, in peace.
There’s another reason for leopards to stay aloft: They don’t exactly get along with their fellow Big Fiver, the African lion. If a lion has a chance to kill a leopard, it will. (Related: “A lioness killing a leopard floored these filmmakers.”)
African lion
Lions are the only social big cat, but don’t expect to see the king. There isn’t one.
These big cats are “not born into a rank,” Borrego says. “They are egalitarian, which means they don’t have a permanent social hierarchy.”
One male may be dominant over the others, but that can change at any time.
Lion society is also matrilineal, “so the females hold the territories,” and stay with the pride into which they’re born. (Related story: “In real life, Simba’s mom would be running the pride.”)
African buffalo
These hefty, cow-like animals often congregate by the thousands in the Serengeti; forming large groups is one defense against predators.
Male and female buffalo both have horns, but the males’ curve upward and fuse together in the center, forming a solid bony plate called a boss. It’s a helpful defense—as is being more than three times heavier than their lion adversaries.
That’s why a lion that attacks a buffalo is taking a huge risk of dying. Buffalo can be aggressive, and frequently come into conflict with humans outside of protected areas.
African elephant
The biggest of the Big Five is the African savanna elephant, which can weigh up to seven tons. The African forest elephant, which is about three feet shorter and lives in the forests of the Congo Basin, was declared a separate species after genetic testing in 2010 showed big differences between the forest and savanna dwellers.
Savanna elephants are large enough to change the landscape, pulling up trees to make grasslands, dispersing seeds, and overall increasing biodiversity.
Long sought after by poachers, elephants have a fragmented range throughout central and southern Africa.
Rhinoceroses
There are two species—the black rhinoceros and the white rhinoceros—and five subspecies between them left in Africa. Those include the northern white rhino, the southern white rhino, the eastern black rhino, the southern central black rhino, and the southwestern black rhino.
All are huge, with a top weight of 5,000 pounds and horns that can grow up to five feet long.
Due largely to poaching for their horns, the western black rhino was declared extinct in 2011. The last male northern white rhino died in 2018, with only two females remaining—making that subspecies functionally extinct. (Learn about the different types of extinction.)
About 20,000 southern white rhinos remain, mostly in southern Africa. Conservation efforts have helped increase the population of the smaller, critically endangered black rhino, found mainly in East and southern Africa.
Other Fives
Africa is incredibly rich in wildlife, which is why several other “fives” have popped up over the years, such as the Little Five—including the leopard tortoise and the elephant shrew—the Shy Five, and the Ugly Five, which, to say the least, is a bit subjective. (Read why people find “ugly” animals cute.)
