Click for more images Africa, the Big Five game animals are the
lion, leopard, rhinoceros, elephant, and cape buffalo. The term was coined by big-game hunters, and refers to the five most
difficult animals in Africa to hunt on foot, but is now also widely used
by safari tour operators. When tourists come on safari many are keen to
see the Big Five.
Lion
The lion is a large feline of Africa, having a short, tawny coat, a tufted
tail, and in the male, a heavy mane around the neck and shoulders. Lions
are desirable to hunters because of the very real danger involved in
hunting them. On Average lions can sleep between 18-20 hours a day, and
they often seek out the shade because they have very few sweat glands. A
male lion's roar can be heard from as far as 8km away, so you may hear one
long before you get to see one!
Leopard
The African leopard is a large, carnivorous feline having either tawny fur
with dark rosette-like markings or black fur. The leopard is considered
the most difficult of the big five to hunt because of their nocturnal and
secretive nature. Leopards are also incredibly strong. They are able to
drag their prey (sometimes twice its size) up a tree so that lions and
hyenas canāt get their claws on it. Often leopards will leave their prey
in the tree for a few days and return when they are hungry.
Rhinoceros
Definitely the rarest of the Big Five is the Rhinoceros. There are two
speciesāthe black rhinoceros and the white rhinocerosāand 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.
Elephant
The biggest of the Big Five is the African savanna elephant, which can
weigh up to seven tons. They are known to be incredibly intelligent,
emotional, self-aware, and social creatures. Elephants can spend up to 18
hours a day eating. They can eat up to 300 kg of food, drink up to 189
liters of water and expel to 150 kg of dung a day. Interestingly,
elephants, like humans are either right or left handed and because of this
either their right or left tusk will be worn down depending on their
dexterity.
Cape Buffalo
The African buffalo or Cape buffalo is a large horned bovid. They are the
only animals within the Big Five that are not endangered or threatened.
Male and female buffalo both have horns, but the malesā curve upward and
fuse together in the center, forming a solid bony plate called a boss.
Itās a helpful defenseāas is being more than three times heavier than
their lion adversaries. In order to survive, the African buffalo needs to
drink water every day. Usually they are never more than 15 km away from
water. An adult buffalo can drink as much as 45 liters of water in one go.
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