The Big Five Animals of Africa: What They Are and How to See Them Ethically

"The Big Five" is one of the most familiar phrases in safari travel. It refers to five large African mammals: the lion, leopard, African elephant, rhinoceros and African buffalo. Seeing all five on one trip has become a goal for many visitors, and the label appears on everything from park brochures to banknotes.

The phrase, however, says nothing about which animals are the biggest, the rarest or the most important ecologically. Understanding where it came from, and how each of these species is doing today, makes for a better and more responsible safari.

Meet the Big Five

Lion

Lions are the only truly social wild cats, living in prides of related females, their cubs and one or more resident males. They are mostly active around dawn, dusk and at night, so midday sightings often show them resting in shade. Lion numbers have declined across much of Africa because of habitat loss, conflict with livestock owners and loss of prey.

Leopard

Leopards are the most elusive of the five. Solitary, largely nocturnal and superbly camouflaged, they often rest in trees, sometimes with prey they have hauled out of reach of lions and hyenas. They occupy a wide range of habitats, but are under pressure from habitat loss, conflict with people and illegal trade in skins and body parts.

African elephant

Elephants are ecosystem engineers: they open up woodland, dig for water and disperse seeds across huge distances. The savanna elephant of open grasslands and woodlands and the smaller forest elephant of Central and West African rainforests are now recognized as separate species. Poaching for ivory and habitat loss remain major threats.

Rhinoceros

Two rhino species live in Africa. White rhinos are larger and graze on grass with a broad, square lip; black rhinos are browsers with a hooked lip for feeding on shrubs. Both were driven to the edge by poaching for their horn, and intensive protection has been critical to their survival. Rhino locations are often kept deliberately vague, and many reserves ask visitors not to geotag photographs.

African buffalo

Buffalo can look like placid cattle, but they are powerful, unpredictable animals that live in herds and defend one another vigorously. Older males that live alone or in small groups have a reputation for being particularly dangerous to people on foot. Their history as a dangerous quarry is precisely why they were included in the original hunters' list.

Where to see the Big Five

Seeing all five in one place requires protected areas that still hold healthy rhino populations, which narrows the list. Large, well-managed parks and reserves in southern and East Africa, such as Kruger National Park in South Africa, are among the best known. In parts of East Africa, rhinos survive mainly in heavily protected sanctuaries or specific areas within parks. Fenced private reserves can offer high sighting rates, but standards of wildlife management and guiding vary.

Beyond the Big Five

Many of Africa's most remarkable predators are not on the list at all. The cheetah, for example, is the continent's most threatened big cat in many areas; our explainer on how cheetahs hunt covers what to look for and how to watch a hunt without interfering. For general principles that apply anywhere, see how to watch wildlife ethically.

References

• IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
• CITES — Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
• WWF — Africa's Big Five
• South African National Parks — Kruger National Park
• Save the Rhino International
• Kenya Wildlife Service