Unique facts about the Big 5
Unique facts about the Big 5 : The word “big five” was first used to talk about the five animals that were hardest to hunt on foot. The lion, leopard, rhino, elephant and buffalo were the five large African mammal species that were known to hunters as dangerous and effectively hunting them was regarded as a success. But today, the expression has a much softer meaning. It means going on Kenya safari in Africa and seeing the beautiful animals there. People want to see, talk to, and take pictures of these friendly giants all the time.
Because of the position and importance of the formidable five, here are some interesting facts about the lion, leopard, rhino, elephant, and buffalo:
Lions.
The lion is Africa’s most dangerous predator and the world’s second biggest big cat. These social cats live in groups called “prides” and need a lot of touch with each other. They roam the savannah grasslands and open plains of Africa. The lions meet each other by rubbing their heads together and exchanging scents that tell each other about their plans, moods, and what they’ve been doing recently.
Females are especially close because they stay in the same pride for their whole lives and raise their cubs together. They do all the hunting, and the males get the first helping – even when there are cubs in the pride. Lions can see in the dark, so most of the killing happens at night. They don’t stay awake all night, so they are most busy just before sunrise or just after sunset. But they eat whenever they can and will hunt at any time.
The roar of a lion can be heard up to 5 miles (8 km) away, so they can talk to each other from far away. They spend most of their time sleeping, up to 20 hours a day.
Leopard.
The leopard is shy and only comes out at night. During the day, it stays hidden. They are the Big Five animals that are seen the least. These cats don’t do anything with each other besides mate and raise their young.
Leopards are very good at climbing trees and will often put their kill in a tree to protect it from lions and hyenas. They can also swim well and eat fish and crabs sometimes. Leopards can drag prey weighing up to three times their own body weight up into trees over 20 feet (6 meters) tall.
Leopards don’t roar, they bark and snarl. They even purr when they are happy. But this isn’t the only thing that makes them special; they are also the most flexible cats. Living in some of the most varied environments of all the big cats, such as both deserts and forests – their ability to endure across a range of habitats allows leopard populations to endure in extremely far threw parts of the world.
Rhino.
The most threatened of the Big 5 Animals is the rhino. The illegal trade of rhino poaching is being motivated by an Asian demand for horns, created worse by more sophisticated poachers. Very few rhinos now endure outside national parks and reserves. The horn of a rhino does not grow out of its head. It will grow back if it breaks off.
The white and black rhino have no teeth therefore they rely on their lips for eating. Rhinos can’t see very well, so they sometimes attack trees and rocks by mistake. But their hearing and sense of smell are great, which often makes up for the fact that they can’t see well.
Elephant.
The majority of trees in West African forests at least one third depend on evolved seeds that navigate through an elephant’s digestive tract for propagation and germination. African elephants converse to each other from far away at a low frequency that people can’t hear.
Even elephants get sunburned in the hot sun of Africa. They throw sand on their backs and heads to protect their skin from the sun and keep bugs away. And despite the fact their skins are extremely resilient, they can feel those tiny insect walking on their skin!
When elephant calves are born, they are almost blind, and some of them suck their tails to feel better, just like babies do with their thumbs.
Elephants like to swim and can go for long lengths in the water. They make do with their trunks as snorkels. The trunk can also be used to grab, bathe, smell, and drink, and it can pick up something as small as a grain of rice.
Buffalo.
A buffalo’s elementary predator is the lion. It will try to save a group member who has been caught or hurt, and it is often seen killing a lion that has killed a group member. Unlike the water buffalo who has a remarkable similarity to the African buffalo this one is dangerous and has never been domesticated.
Dangerous, as it should be! People say that more shooters have been killed by buffalo in Africa than by any other animal. Still, they kill more than 200 people every year, which has given them the names “Black Death” and “Widow Maker.”
People from all over the world who come to our safaris are excited to see the famous rhino, leopard, lion, buffalo, and elephant all together. Contact us right away to find out more about our tours to Africa’s best places to see the Big Five at Focus East Africa Tours.
