The Big Five
African Game
Today, though, many prefer to shoot these tremendous creatures with a camera. There is still an element of excitement in tracking these potentially dangerous yet intriguing mammals and encountering them via safari in the bush savannahs.
The Elephant Loxodonta Africana
The elephant is Africa’s and the world’s largest land mammal. They can exceed four metres in height at shoulder level and seven and half metres in length including the trunk and can weigh over six thousand kilograms. Their tusks can weigh as much as seventy kilograms. They are also the most destructive land creature. When bull elephants are in musth they can literally push over trees and cause habitat destruction. Sadly if the food chain is altered in anyway leading to a significant increase in the number of elephants then it has a knock on effect on the surrounding ecosystem.
Elephants do have an incredible memory, hence the term ‘elephants never forget’. In addition they can live up to seventy years and often die when their sixth set of teeth gradually wares away. Elephants constantly move whilst feeding and groups of Savannah elephants can number as many as a hundred.
The Black Rhinoceros Dicerous Bicornis
White Rhinos are the second largest land mammal though Black Rhinos weigh around nine hundred to fourteen hundred kilograms and are a similar size to that of the hippopotamus. However unlike hippos and elephants, rhinos tend to be far more solitary. The black rhinoceros in particular, is highly aggressive and has poor eyesight.
Rhinos are still hunted for their horns and have become increasingly rare. They are herbivorous and are located mainly in East Africa but also in South Africa.
The Buffalo Syncerus Caffer
Apart from their young, elephants and rhinos do not have to be overly concerned with natural predators. However buffaloes have to be wary of prides of lions that are eager to hunt them as they enjoy their meat and provide plenty of sustenance for a large pride which would certainly be capable of bringing them down.
Buffaloes are widespread across central, eastern and parts of southern Africa and congregate in herds, sometimes as many as two thousand individuals. Their horns are strong and heavy and provide a good deterrent against animals that would seek to challenge them.
The Lion Panthera Leo
The lion is the largest of Africa’s big cats and is inappropriately named the king of beasts or the jungle as in reality in resides in the savannah. Lions are also the most sociable and gregarious of all the thirty seven varieties of non-domesticated cats. Their roar can be heard from a distance of up to five miles and can send a chill up the spine of the bravest of souls. Lionesses hunt intelligently and cooperatively. One waits in ambush while another chases their prey into the direction of the ambush.
Lions enjoy a variety of prey including buffalo, Thompson’s gazelle, wart hogs, zebras or anything else that will provide them with a meal. Male lions can devour up to thirty kilogram’s of meat in a single sitting.
The Leopard Panthera Pardus
The leopard is the most successful big cat, both in terms of its numbers and the distribution of its habitat. Although at between forty to eighty kilograms, depending on gender they are about a third of the size of lions. However leopards are extremely efficient hunters and are arguably more aggressive and dangerous to humans than lions.
Leopards are adept in trees and have incredible power to weight ratio. After making a kill it is not uncommon for them to hoist their victim into the tree where they can dine at leisure. The black leopard is not a separate subspecies. Its colour can be attributed to the melanin in its skin and it is not uncommon to see a black leopard born in a litter of three of four regular ones.
Buffaloes Horns Are Strong And Heavy
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Elephants Are The Largest Land Mammal
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Rhinos Are Second Largest Land Mammal
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The Lion Panthera Leo
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Leopard Sucessful Big Cat
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