big 5
The Myth of the Big Five
03/04/18 Filed in: wildife
The myth of the Big Five lives in every safari booking and they are on top of every bucket list of safari guests. The Big Five are the leopard, the elephant, the buffalo, the lion and the rhino (actually the black rhino, but the white rhino is also accepted). They are the most difficult and with the most danger involved animals to hunt on foot.
The term comes originally from big game hunters, but has been adopted and brought to mystic heights through African safari tourism. Who does not want to see the elusive leopard, hard to find and quickly gone when he/she doesn’t want to be seen? The elephants are often seen as the cuddly giants, but an unhappy elephant is rather dangerous than cute. Buffalos don’t give a warning, they just chase suddenly and some game drive vehicles have experienced that, fortunately with little danger for the guests. The big male lion is the wildlife photographers dream, hopefully with the great light of the golden hour and with majestic posture. And then the rhino, threatened by poachers for their horns, they are impressive animals from pre-historic times, difficult to get good pictures from, that capture their beauty and personality.
One animal, that is often mixed up with the Big Five is the cheetah. The cheetah is not part of the Big Five, as they are not difficult to hunt, although who would like to hunt anyway any of these amazing animals. Fortunately times have changed and is the hunt prohibited in some African countries. Yet there is still lots of work to do, to ensure the Big Five will be around for safaris also for future generations. Hunting with the camera is luckily easier and provides joy for everyone, the photographer and the animal.