In case you have done some research over the internet, it’s a sure deal you have ever come across a term the big five animals or the big five safaris and these come to your results most of the times. There are many misconceptions about the big five species in Africa. This is why we have come up with some great insights that will help you in understanding Africa’s famous Big Five animals very well.
These include the African lion, African elephants, the Cape buffalo, black Rhinoceros as well as the African Buffalo. Many of the travelers assume that the term Big five is linked to the animals large size, but it was again estimated by the big game hunters who come up with the term that means that five animals are the most dangerous and most difficult to hunt. we also want to thank the much efforts of the conservation and the preservation of wildlife since the big five safaris no longer refer to the hunting tours and offers the tourists all over the world with a great opportunity of seeing the beautiful creatures within their habitants.
Even though the five species are found in Africa and if you want to see them at once, you will only be able to see them in one destination and below is the list of countries to carry out the safaris; Uganda, Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Congo and Malawi. Get to know about the big five animals before you meet them in real life. Below are some of the facts about each of the big five in details.
The African Lion; the lion is known as the king of the beasts or the king of the jungle, the animal is one of the sought after and a very powerful creature in the animal kingdom. This animal is the most social animal among all the cats. These can be found as they roam around in groups called the prides. Each of the prides has a herd of about 15 lions including 1 or 2 males with one of them being the dominant male and the rest in the group includes the females and the cubs of different ages. The lions also have a life span of up to 5 years and one can tell how old the lion is by looking at its mane, the darker it is, the older he will be.
The female lions are hunters of the prides and they do this during the night, in the morning and in the afternoon, their prey includes giraffes, Buffalos, zebras, elephants and the wildebeests. You can as well see a lion hanging around in the open plains where their prey come together to graze and take water.
The Black Rhinoceros; its name refers to its color as black; its colors vary from brown to grey. This is native to eastern and Southern Africa and its known that this specie is still one of the most hunted animals in Africa and it’s known to be the most endangered out of the big five animals. These are solitary creatures who like to live alone. They feed at night and during dusk and dawn. These also feed on leaves as well as the fruits found on the trees and bushes. These have got a poor vision but have a good sense of smell and hearing. The difference between the black and white Rhino is the double thorns on the black Rhino. They have got a front thorn which is also situated above their nose and is conducted the prominent one. It can grow as much as 3 inches every year and up to five feet long. This horn is the main reason as to why this specie is fiercely poached and it’s thought to have the vital medicinal use and is mostly liked in the Asian countries like China and Taiwan. It’s also sold as ornamental dagger handle.
The Africa Elephant; these are more larger in size since they can grow up to 13 feet tall and also their weight can go up to 14,000ibs. This is considered the largest land mammal in the whole world and can be found in over 37 different countries in Africa. These are 2 different species of the African elephants including the savannah elephant and the forest elephant. The forest elephants can also be found in the savannahs of Africa while the forest elephants live in the rain forests of the central western Africa. There are known to be able to communicate with others across a large distance at a very frequency that can’t be heard by the humans. You will be interested in knowing that there are many plant species that have seeds that depend on being passed through the elephant’s digestive tract before they get to germinate. It’s also true that a third of the trees that are found in West Africa forests mostly rely on the elephants for the dissemination.
The African leopard; this is solitary, nocturnal and so secretive animal and its difficult to see since they like resting and staying in hidden places during the day. The species also tend to be more elusive and less seen out of the big five animals during the game drive. They have got a preference for the rocky land scapes and the dense bush and the riverine forests. These are known to adapt so quickly, though stay in areas for more than two and three days at a time. These are able to survive the loss of their past habitants due to increased human settlements.
These are known to be good climbers and their spotted coat provides a good camouflage that comes in handy when they go for hunting. They are furtive hunters once they catch their prey, they will also safeguard it by taking it up in the tree in order to prevent many other animals like the hyenas, or the lions from stealing it. The leopards are strong swimmers and can eat fish or the shell fish like the crabs.
The Cape Buffalos; this is the lesser known specie of all the big five animals and the cape buffaloes are also formidable animals due to their size, the large herds and the thorns. These are active during the day and night and on average spend 18 hours a day as they forage and moving around in herds of over 500 buffaloes. They are mainly hunted by the lions and are loyal to its herds and can also try to rescue another member in case they are caught by attacking the predators. These are also hunted by the humans and they kill more hunters in Africa other than other animals. These also have got a good memory and known to just trap hunters that have injured them even when the years have passed.
