African Safari Photo Journal #6: The Big Five

This is the sixth post in an ongoing series showcasing STP customer Ray Boyd’s September 2007 African safari in Tanzania.

Ray managed to see all of “The Big Five” while he was on safari; the elephant, the cape (or African) buffalo, the rhinoceros, the leopard, and the lion. These animals were named “The Big Five” because they’re the hardest animals to hunt, not because they’re the biggest. My favorite, the elephant, has been in the news quite a bit lately. Sadly, hunters in South Africa will soon begin culling elephants because the population has (supposedly) gotten out of control.

This guy, the cape or African buffalo, means business. You don’t want to get in his way. According to Ray, the cape buffalo is one of the meanest, most aggressive animals in all of Africa. In Tanzania, where animals have the right of way, people do their best to steer clear of the cape buffalo.

Just like buffalo in our country, cape buffalo travel in herds and graze over long distances. Their horns are shaped differently, however, and they have less hair because of the difference in temperature between the two places.

These two rhinoceros are the only ones Ray saw on safari. There are only twenty of them left in the entire Ngora Ngora Crater. They’ve been hunted dangerously close to extinction here. Local tribesmen kill them and use their horns as knife handles. It’s another unfortunate case of cultural tradition leading to the near extinction of a species. Poaching and illegal wildlife trading is a huge problem in Africa.

You have to look pretty closely to spot a leopard. No wonder the leopard is one of The Big Five. You can barely see him in that tree. If it wasn’t for the experienced, watchful eye of the naturalist on Ray’s tour, he probably would have missed this lounging cat.

Here he is from another angle. The leopard is the most elusive of all big cats — his spots provide excellent camouflage cover. The leopard is also the strongest climber in the cat family and often hides his kill in the trees to save it from competing lions and hyenas. He’s a solitary, nocturnal hunter who spend his days sleeping.

Last but not least… the lion. This lioness is catching some rays while she, too, rests from last night’s hunt. Less elusive than the leopard, but every bit as fierce, the lion is probably the most famous animal in Africa. And definitely the “biggest” of the Big Five.