African
Wildlife – “The Big Five”
African Wildlife – “The
Big Five”
Everyone
has expectations of what they want to see and experience
on safari, but Africa’s “Big
Five” are perhaps the most popular with today’s
safari set. An African Safari was traditionally
a hunting safari and the Big Five (lion, elephant,
rhino, leopard and buffalo) were known as the most
dangerous animals for hunters on a safari. Today,
these same five animals are sought after, not nearly
so much for hunting, but for the excitement of seeing
and photographing them.
Lion: Although
they are popularly referred to as the “king
of the jungle,” African
lions are typically a plains game species, preferring
more open spaces in which to hunt. Lions are the
most social of all cats, with some lion prides
totaling as many as 15 lions. At one time, lions
were found everywhere from Greece through the Middle
East to northern India, but today only a very small
population remains in India and the rest are now
confined to sub-Saharan Africa.
Elephant: The
largest land mammal, an average male elephant weighs
about 12,000 pounds and stands about 10 feet tall
at the shoulder. The smaller forest elephant weighs
a scant 10,000 pounds. And
believe it or not, an elephant's trunk has more than
40,000 muscles. The African elephant is adaptable
to just about every region of the continent’s
vast savannahs, endless deserts, and lush rain forests.
Elephants can be quite dangerous, especially females
in a breeding herd, but they are also quite intelligent
and not usually outwardly aggressive otherwise.
Rhino: Second
in size to the elephant, these astonishingly unique
animals have diminished in numbers over the years
due to poaching. The rhino horn, much like elephant
tusks, is a highly prized item. In fact, rhino
horn is used for medicinal purposes in some parts
of the world. A large, primitive-looking
mammal, this creature dates back to the Miocene era
millions of years ago. The two species of African
rhino are the black rhino and the white rhino (actually
most rhinos are more of a grayish color). The origin
of the white rhinos’ name originates from the
Dutch "weit," meaning wide--a present in
many safari areas, but because black rhinos suffered
the greatest poaching damage to their population,
white rhinos are the variety more commonly encountered
on safari.
Leopard: These
beautiful cats of the Panthera family are most
definitely the strongest climbers and also the
savviest felines in the African wilderness. Unfortunately,
they are also quite reclusive making them hard to
spot. Leopards are cautious, active during both day
and night, and can climb, swim and live in a wider
range of habitats than most other wild animals. Leopards
exhibit a wide variety of coat colors, from a light
buff or tawny in warmer, dryer areas to darker shades
in forested areas. The spots, or rosettes, are circular
in East African leopards but more square in southern
African leopards.
Buffalo: When
viewing these creatures, you will, in all likelihood,
see them in large herds, although small groups
of adult males occasionally form bachelor groups. The
African buffalo also has an intimidating, odd stare
that creates the impression that they’re
looking directly at you even from miles away. Extremely
dangerous, many game hunters have lost their lives
to these animals because they are highly unpredictable
and have been known to ambush people. There
is only one genus and one species of buffalo in Africa,
but this single species has two different types:
the large savanna buffalo and the much smaller dwarf
forest buffalo. Cape Buffalo are heavy animals that
vary in appearance, not only in size and coloration,
but also in the shapes of their horns and faces.
Eyes
on Africa,
an African safari company, boasts an extremely
knowledgeable team of staff members, who are
passionate about every aspect of travel to Africa, including its wildlife and safari destinations.
When you're ready to plan your African safari,
a holiday in Africa, or if you just have questions,
please feel free to contact us toll free at 800-457-9575
or visit our web site at http://www.eyesonafrica.net/contactus.htm and
complete an information request form.
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on Africa was selected most knowledgeable
Regional Expert for Southern Africa / Safaris by
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