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The African Big 6 Experience: Encounter the Ultimate Safari Thrills
The African Big 5 Safari
The term Big Five is used in Africa to refer to the five largest animals on the African continent.
The term Big 5 does doesn’t only reference the size and dimensions of the animals, but also the difficulty in hunting and killing them.
Big Five is an increasingly popular term among safari and animal lovers, which, however, has a very distasteful origin, which is still a major problem for African animals to date.
The Big Five Game was a sort of competition, a competition and personal challenge between hunters, who challenged each other to see who could kill each of Africa’s most dangerous animals, and then decorate their homes with trophies of the hunt.
The Big Five Game was really something to be proud of, and a lot of people headed for the lands of South Africa, where there was an abundance of those animals, to try and kill them.
Why call these animals the Big Five?
These animals were named the “Big 5” because they are not only among the most hunted/poached animals, but also the most difficult and dangerous to hunt on foot.
These five large African mammal species were known to be treacherous, and it was considered a feat by trophy hunters to bring them home.
A number of tourists ask why these animals were chosen, as African Big 5 they were extremely dangerous to pursue on foot and many hunters lost their lives while trying to get that prestigious trophy because they hunt back!
Which animals make up the African big5?
Big Five animals are elephants, lions, leopards, buffaloes and black rhinos.
These are some of the most characteristic animals of the African fauna, as well as one of the most important reasons why thousands of visitors come every year to experience safaris in Africa and Uganda.
Elephant
African elephants are the largest land mammals on Earth.
African elephants are keystone species, meaning they play a critical role in their ecosystem.
Also known as “ecosystem engineers,” elephants shape their habitat in many ways.
During the dry season, they use their tusks to dig up dry riverbeds and create watering holes many animals can drink from.
Their dung is full of seeds, helping plants spread across the environment—and it makes pretty good habitat for dung beetles too.
In the forest, their feasting on trees and shrubs creates pathways for smaller animals to move through, and in the savanna, they uproot trees and eat saplings, which helps keep the landscape open for zebras and other plains animals to thrive.
Diet
Elephants eat roots, grasses, fruit, and bark. An adult elephant can consume up to 300kg of food and 160 litres of water in a single day.
These hungry animals do not sleep much, roaming great distances while foraging for the large quantities of food that they require to sustain their massive bodies.
Lion (Panthera leo)
A lion is a large, powerful well-muscled cat with a long body, large head, and short legs.
The male’s outstanding characteristic is his mane, it may be full and shaggy, covering the back of the head, neck, and shoulders and continuing onto the throat and chest to join a fringe along the belly.
In some lions the mane and fringe are very dark, almost black, giving the cat a majestic appearance.
Manes make males look larger and may serve to intimidate rivals or impress prospective mates.
What do lions feed on?
Lions are carnivores and fierce predators known for their hunting effectiveness.
They typically hunt in the prides (groups) that consist of up to three males, a dozen females, and their cubs.
Lions feed on “meat and flesh”.
As apex predators, lions are adept at hunting for their food, which is typically other animals that live within its habitat.
This can include anything from antelopes, giraffes, zebras, wild hogs and even crocodiles.
Hunting in lions
Hunting generally is done in the dark by the lionesses. They often hunt in groups of two or three, using teamwork to stalk, surround, and kill their prey.
Lionesses aren’t the most successful of hunters, because they usually score only one kill out of several tries.
After the kill the males usually eat first, lionesses next and the cubs get what’s left.
Males and females fiercely defend against any outside lions that attempt to join their pride.
What is a pride of lion?
A lion pride is a group of lions that live and hunt together
Lions are the only big cats to live in family units called prides. Other big cats live solitary lives, except when breeding or raising cubs.
A lion pride may include up to three males, a dozen females, and their young. All of a pride’s female lionesses and cubs are typically related
At around two to three years old, young males leave the pride and attempt to take over another male’s pride.
The social structure of the pride is based on specific roles. Lionesses are the primary hunters, while dominant males are responsible for protecting the pride’s territory.
Lion prey includes antelopes, zebras, wildebeest, buffalo, and other grassland animals.
These animals are often larger and faster than an individual lion. By hunting
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Scientifically known as “Panthera pardus“, leopards are among the large, carnivorous feline. Their fur is typically tawny with dark rosette-shaped markings.
The leopards are normally nocturnal in that they are mostly active between sunset and sunrise, although they can hunt during the day.
Leopards are found in the savanna grasslands, and forested areas in Africa. Among the Big Six, they are the most difficult animals to acquire a hunting license for.
These apex predators are known for their powerful jaws that they use to suffocate prey and their skin texture that helps them blend in the lush savanna grasslands making them difficult to easily notice by prey and potential threats.
Leopards are good tree-climbing mammals which they use as a strategy to easily sight their prey and also run from potential threats and danger.
These apex predators also use their tree-climbing skills to hide their kills from scavengers like the hyenas.
Buffaloes
African buffaloes, also known as Cape buffaloes, scientifically referred to as “Syncerus caffer“, are iconic and robust bovine mammals found across sub-Saharan Africa.
African buffaloes are one of the largest and powerful animals, with mature bulls weighing up to 900 kg while around 1.7 meters tall.
They possess distinctive, irresistible backward-curving horns that can span up to 160 cm in width.
These creatures inhabit various environments including savannas, grasslands, woodlands and swamps. They are often found near a water source.
Buffaloes are naturally social animals and form herds of various sizes, from a few individuals to numerous hundreds. These herds are usually led by dominant bulls.
Female buffaloes also known as cows, normally give birth to a calf after a gestation period of about 11 months and calves are protected and cared for by the entire herd.
African buffaloes are famously known for their unpredictable and aggressive nature, most especially when threatened.
They have a reputation as responsible for most deaths of people in Africa and they have reportedly been known to ambush and attack humans.
And as one of the “Big six” game animals they are a challenging target for hunters. They face challenges from natural predators such as lions.
However, buffaloes are challenging prey to lions because of their unyielding persistence. African buffaloes are also listed as “Least Concern” by the IUCN Red List because of their relatively stable populations in protected parks and reserves.
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Rhinoceros
African Rhinoceros are magnificent as well as endangered creatures native to the African continent. There are two species of African rhinoceros including the black rhino (Diceros bicornis) and the white rhino (Ceratotherium simum).
The black Rhinoceros and white Rhinoceros are large herbivores mammals with two upright horns on their nasal bridge.
All these Rhinoceros species are classified as critically endangered because they face severe threats from poaching and habitat loss, leading to a critical decline in their populations and both are subject to extensive poaching and among the big-five game hunters, the black rhinoceros is more targeted and highly prized.
The white rhino is the larger of the two species, weighing up to 2,300 kilograms with a height of over 6 feet tall. Black Rhinos are smaller, with males weighing around 1,300 kilograms.
Both species have two distinctive horns made of keratin, and this is the same protein as human hair and nails. African rhinos are limited to habitats in a few countries in southern regions and eastern regions of Africa.
The demand for rhino horns as traditional medicine and also illegal wildlife trade have driven poaching rates to extreme levels.
Rhinos are normally solitary mammals, with a poor eyesight but excellent senses of smell and hearing. African rhinos are generally herbivores feeding on grasses, leaves, and fruits.
While in the wild, rhinos can live up to 50 years, while some individuals in captivity have lived for over 60 years. Rhinos are significant cultural symbols in Africa, representing strength, resilience, and natural heritage.
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