THE BIG 5 GAME

The phrase big 5 game was coined by big game hunters and refers to the five most difficult animals in Africa to hunt on foot. I'm sure you have come across this term many times. And I'm also sure some of you thought they are the biggest( in size) et al.............The collection consists of the lion, the african elephant, the african buffalo, the leopard and the rhinoceros. The members of the big 5 were chosen for the difficulty in hunting them and not their size, which is why the leopard is included and say, the formidable hippo is not. The big five are also the most dangerous mammals on earth. All exist within numerous Kenyan National Parks and Reserves.

The Lion (Panthera Leo)

The lion is a large carnivorous feline of Africa and Northwest India and has a short tawny coat, a tufted tail, and, in the male, a heavy mane around the neck and shoulders









The African Buffalo/Cape Buffalo(Syncerus Caffer)

The Cape Buffalo is a large horned bovid. ( Im also sure you dont know what 'bovid' is..... wikipedia is always available!!) It is the most dangerous of the five( believe it or not) reportedly causing the most hunter deaths.









The Rhinoceros

The rhinoceros is a large, thick skinned herbivore having one/two upright horns on the snout. In Africa, there are two distinct species of rhinoceros; the black rhinoceros(diceros bicornis) and the white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum). Both of these, as you can see from the pictures have two upright horns on the snout. Sadly, both are endangered.






The African Elephant

The African Elephant is a very large herbivore that has thick, almost hairless skin, a long, flexible, prehensile trunk, upper incisors forming long curved tusks of ivory and large, fan shaped ears.

There are two distict species of African elephants, which are the African Forest Elephant(loxodonta cyclotis) and the African Bush Elephant( loxodonta africana)

The Leopard (Panthera Pardus)

 The leopard is a large, carnivore feline either with tawny fur with dark rosette-like markings or black fur. Leopards , amongst the 5, are the most difficult to acquire hunting licences for and are often difficult to hunt due to their behaviour and their nocturnal feeding habits. Leopards hunting usually overlaps several weeks of baiting.