Introducinin the Big Five

7/31/2019 Introducinin the Big Five

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Introducing The "Big Five"

When you start researching an African safari, the term "Big Five" often crops up. The "Big 5" refers to

the African: lion, leopard, rhino, elephant and Cape buffalo. Why not the hippo, gorilla or giraffe you

may ask? Are they not large as well? How about the cheetah -- that would be an animal you would

probably like to see as much as a buffalo. Well, the term "big five" was actually coined by big game

hunters (not safari tour operators). It refers to the difficulty in bagging these large animals, mostly

due to their ferocity when cornered and shot at.

Safari tour operators simply took the phrase "big 5" and turned it into a marketing term. A shame

really since I've been on more than one safari where guides have sped past a giraffe en route to

buffalo, simply because it was assumed I'd like to see the "big five" over anything else. A poll I

conducted shows that I am not alone in finding a giraffe infinitely more exciting to spot than a Cape

buffalo.

Click through for information, facts and photos about the "Big 5"

The African Elephant

The African Rhino

The African Leopard

The African Lion

The Cape Buffalo

What About the "Little Five"?

The "Little Five" is just a fun idea, not based on anything beyond the fact that there are five little

animals found in Africa, with names corresponding to the "Big Five". The Little Five are: Rhinoceros

Beetle, Buffalo Weaver, Elephant Shrew, Leopard Tortoise, and the Ant Lion

Click here for more information, photos and facts about the "Little Five".

What's the "Big Seven"?

You may also come across the term "big seven", South African Tour operators coined this phrase, it's

just another clever safari marketing term. Nevertheless it does prove the fact that South Africa has

an incredible diversity of wildlife as the "Big 7" includes the Great White shark and the Southern

Right Whale.


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Previous

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2

African Elephant (Loxodonta africana)

3

African Lion (Panthera leo)

4

African Leopard (Panthera pardus)

5

African Rhino (Diceros bicornis & Ceratotherium simum)

6

Cape Buffalo (Syncerus caffer)

Next

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