In Africa, the Big five game animals are the lion, leopard, rhinoceros, elephant, and African buffalo. [1] The term was coined by big-game hunters to refer to the five most difficult animals in Africa to hunt on foot, [2] [3] [4] but is now more widely used by game viewing tourists and safari tour operators. [5] [2] [6] They are examples of charismatic megafauna, featuring prominently in popular culture, and are among the most famous of Africa's large animals.
The 1990 and later releases of South African rand banknotes feature a different big-five animal on each denomination. Countries where all can be found include Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zambia and Zimbabwe. [7] [8]
The African bush elephant (Loxodonta africana) and the African forest elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis) are the largest extant land-based animals. Elephants are herbivores with thick, almost hairless skin; a long, flexible, prehensile trunk; upper incisors forming long, curved, ivory tusks; and large, fan-shaped ears. Elephants are difficult to hunt because, despite their large size, they are able to hide in thick bush and are more likely to charge than the other Big Five species. They become aggressive when their young are threatened. [9]
The black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis) and the white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum) are large herbivores with two upright horns on their nasal bridge. The black rhino is classified as critically endangered and the white rhino as near threatened, and both are subject to extensive poaching. Among big-five game hunters, the black rhinoceros is more highly prized. [10] The current existing rhinos throughout the savanna are southern white rhinoceros, eastern black rhinoceros, south-western black rhinoceros and south-central black rhinoceros.
The African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) is a large horned bovid. It is the only animal among the Big Five that is not on the "endangered" or "threatened" list. [11] The Cape buffalo (Syncerus caffer caffer) is considered by many to be the most dangerous of any of the Big Five: [12] buffalos have reportedly been known to ambush and attack humans. [13]
The lion (Panthera leo) is a large, carnivorous feline found in both Africa and northwestern India. It has a short, tawny coat; a tufted tail; and, in the male, a heavy mane around the neck and shoulders. As a large and charismatic apex predator with cultural significance, lions are among the most popular species to view on safari tours. [14] [15] [16]
The leopard (Panthera pardus) is a large, carnivorous feline. Its fur is generally tawny with dark rosette-shaped markings. The leopard is the most seldom seen of the Big Five because of its nocturnal habits (it is most active between sunset and sunrise, although it may hunt during the day in some areas), and because it is wary of humans and will take flight in the face of danger. Leopards can be located in the grasslands, dense brushes, deserts, and forested areas of African savannas. Among the Big Five, they are the most difficult animals to acquire a hunting license for.[ citation needed ]
Africa's Big Five have become major concerns for wildlife conservationists in recent years. The African lion and African leopard are both classified as vulnerable. The African savanna elephant is listed as endangered by the IUCN as of 2021. The southern white rhinoceros and African buffalo are classified as near threatened while the black rhinoceros is classified as critically endangered. [17]
The black rhinoceros, black rhino or hook-lipped rhinoceros is a species of rhinoceros, native to eastern and southern Africa including Angola, Botswana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Eswatini, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Although the species is referred to as black, its colours vary from brown to grey. It is the only extant species of the genus Diceros.
The African buffalo is a large sub-Saharan African bovine. There are five subspecies that are recognized as being valid. Syncerus caffer caffer, the Cape buffalo, is the nominotypical subspecies, and the largest one, found in Southern and East Africa. S. c. nanus is the smallest subspecies, common in forest areas of Central and West Africa, while S. c. brachyceros is in West Africa and S. c. aequinoctialis is in the savannas of East Africa. The adult African buffalo's horns are its characteristic feature: they have fused bases, forming a continuous bone shield across the top of the head referred to as a "boss".
West Midland Safari and Leisure Park is a safari park located in Bewdley in Worcestershire, England. It was opened under the name of West Midland Safari Park in Spring 1973.
Akagera National Park is a protected area in eastern Rwanda covering 1,122 km2 (433 sq mi) along the international border with Tanzania. It was founded in 1934 and includes savannah, montane and swamp habitats. The park is named for the Kagera River which flows along its eastern boundary feeding into Lake Ihema and several smaller lakes. The complex system of lakes and linking papyrus swamps makes up over a third of the park, which is the largest protected wetland in Eastern-Central Africa.
The Pilanesberg National Park is located north of Rustenburg in the North West Province of South Africa. The park borders on the Sun City entertainment complex. It is administered by the North West Parks and Tourism Board.
The East Sudanian savanna is a hot, dry, tropical savanna ecoregion of Central and East Africa.
The Northern Congolian forest–savanna mosaic is a forest and savanna ecoregion of central Africa. It extends east and west across central Africa, covering parts of Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan, and Uganda. It is part of the belt of transitional forest-savanna mosaic that lie between Africa's moist equatorial Guineo-Congolian forests and the tropical dry forests, savannas, and grasslands to the north and south.
The eastern black rhinoceros, also known as the East African black rhinoceros, is a subspecies of the black rhinoceros. Its numbers are very low due to poaching for its horn, and it is listed as critically endangered.
The south-central black rhinoceros, also known as the south-central hook-lipped rhinoceros or the lesser black rhino, is a subspecies of the black rhinoceros. In keeping with the rules of zoological nomenclature, the south-central black rhinoceros should be known as Diceros bicornis keitloa, a nomen novum. Although it is the most numerous of the black rhinoceros subspecies, it is nevertheless designated as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List. Like other black rhinoceros subspecies, it has a prehensile lip and lives in savanna habitat.
The wildlife of Zimbabwe occurs foremost in remote or rugged terrain, in national parks and private wildlife ranches, in miombo woodlands and thorny acacia or kopje. The prominent wild fauna includes African buffalo, African bush elephant, black rhinoceros, southern giraffe, African leopard, lion, plains zebra, and several antelope species.
The wildlife of Kenya refers to its fauna. The diversity of Kenya's wildlife has garnered international fame, especially for its populations of large mammals. Mammal species include lion, cheetah hippopotamus, African buffalo, wildebeest (Connochaetes), African bush elephant, zebra (Equus), giraffe (Giraffa), and rhinoceros. Kenya has a very diverse population of birds, including flamingo and common ostrich.
The wildlife of Zambia refers to the natural flora and fauna of Zambia. This article provides an overview, and outline of the main wildlife areas or regions, and compact lists of animals focusing on prevalence and distribution in the country rather than on taxonomy. More specialized articles on particular groups are linked from here.
Luengue-Luiana National Park is a national park in Angola.
The Zambezian coastal flooded savanna is a flooded grasslands and savannas ecoregion in Mozambique. It includes the coastal flooded savannas and grasslands in the deltas of the Zambezi, Pungwe, Buzi, and Save rivers.
The wildlife of the Central African Republic is in the vast natural habitat in the Central African Republic (CAR) located between the Congo Basin's rain forests and large savannas, where the human density was smaller than 0.5 per km2 prior to 1850. The forest area of 22.755 million, considered one of the richest storehouses of wildlife spread over national parks, hunting reserves and community hunting areas, experienced an alarming loss of wildlife because of greed for ivory and bushmeat exploitation by hunters – mostly Arab slavers from across the borders of the Central African Republic with Chad and Sudan.
In Africa, the little five game animals are defined as the:
The Southern miombo woodlands is a tropical grasslands and woodlands ecoregion extending across portions of Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Generally known as the "Big Five," the group we're talking about comprises lion, leopard, elephant, Cape buffalo and rhino, although not necessarily in that order.
No human being could begin to outrun any of the big five, nor would he last more than a few seconds in any contest of strength.