The African “Big Fiveâ€
UPDATE: OUR AFRICAN SAFARI BLOGS ARE NOW POSTED HERE
Lion: For sure the king of the jungle, he is the #1 animal to see on an African Safari. As I’m a big fan of cats, and big cats, I’m really hoping to get some great shots of a pride of lions.
As I’m sure is true for 99% of people who go on Safari, we hope to see the “Big Five” animals. The tag that goes along with these animals is two-fold, for one thing they are clearly the biggest animals in Africa with few exceptions (hippo didn’t make the list). The second, and more prevalent, is that big game hunters preferred hunting these animals.
When I first started looking a Safari trips I wasn’t aware of the term “Big Five” and people kept referring to the various trip and tour options as “fYor sure you’ll see the “Big Five'”, to which I nodded my head in agreement and quickly did an internet search to find out which animals where members of the Big Five. For a refresher the “Big Five” are the Lion, Rhino, Elephant, Leopard, and Buffalo (of African heritage).
Leopard: Also a big one on the top of my list is leopards, leopards in a tree, leopards anywhere. For me, this big spotted cat is a must get on the safari.
Rhinos: Although it would be very nice to get some shots of rhinos while on the safari, I’m told there are not many left and they tend to be a rare site in most locations.
Elephants: These big lumbering beasts are well, BIG. Not sure how close we can get to one in Africa, but I would like to get a picture of one silhouetted on the horizon (I know that’s asking for a bit much, but I can dream).
and last but not least (but I don’t have a picture of it)…
African Buffalo: Its Migration time, so they should be on the move and trying to cross rivers and plains. With luck we can capture some footage of the migration and the mass herds of various migrating animals that we keep hearing about.
Note: Pictures in today’s blog are from our various visit to Zoos, as we haven’t gone to Africa yet. It would be a bit of a trick to already have pictures from there, wouldn’t it?
UPDATE: OUR AFRICAN SAFARI BLOGS ARE NOW POSTED HERE
We saw the “Big Five” often in more than one location. They therefore appear throughout our blog entries for our safari days in Kenya and Tanzania. Clicking on the names below will bring you to a blog entry which relates to our encounter with one of these wonderful creatures.We had many such encounters during our travels. Feel free to follow our travels and experiences by clicking on one or many of our entries. Thank you for visiting Africa with us through our cameras and our entries.
– Lion
– Elephant
– Rhinoceros
– African Buffalo
– Leopard
The other animals that are commonly seen when on safari in Kenya and Tanzania are as follows (we saw many but not all of them):
– Cheetah
– Steenbok
– Water Buck
– Bush Buck
– Reedbuck
– Coke’s Hartebeest or Kongoni
– Thomson’s Gazelle
– Grant’s Gazelle
– Roan Antelope
– Oribi
– Wildebeest
– Impala
– Klipspringer
– Topi
– Eland
– Dick-Dick
– Common Duiker
– Zorilla
– Squirrel
– Mongoose
– Otter
– Baboon
– Jackal
– Wild Dog
– Hyena and Hyena
– Bat-eared Fox
– Bush Pig
– Wart Hog
– Vervet Monkey (Images) (Movie)
– Blue Monkee
– Serval Cat
– Genet
– Civet
– Giraffe
– Zebra
– Hippopotamus
– Crocodile
– Monitor Lizard
– Honey Badger
– Ant Bear
– Tortoise
– Porcupine
– Pangolia
– Jumping Hare
– Hyrax
*****
*****
