The Big 5 animals
The Big 5 animals
The Big 5 animals: An ideal Uganda safari or Rwanda safari will surely be comprised with visiting the wildlife of the country. There are 5 animals that are known as the Big 5. This Big 5 term was initiated back in the 1800s by some renown huntsmen and they referred to the animals they considered the most dangerous animals and hardest to hunt while on foot. Today, they are believed to be the animals that balance the eco system and these are the African Elephant, the lion, the leopard, the African Buffalo and the Rhinoceros. All these animals can be viewed on a wildlife safari in any of the East African countries that is Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya and Tanzania.
The hunting of wildlife has long been thrown out of the picture and wildlife lovers have opted to replace the gun with the camera. Beautiful shots can be taken of the animals while on a game drive in the wildlife parks especially in Queen Elizabeth national park, Murchison falls national park and Kidepo national park of Uganda, Akagera national park of Rwanda, Serengeti national park of Tanzania and Masai mara of Kenya. The Big 5 term is still widely and commonly used to market these animals however much in the past, the Big 5 were hunted down by the big in society staring with the American presidents to the royal families of Europe for prestige and the bigger and more rare of the 5, the higher the respect was earned. Some countries like South Africa still support and legalized game hunting for the connected and wealthy in society.
Three of the big 5 animals are however listed on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) under the class of the Vulnerable species and that is the African lion, the leopard and the African elephant thus the need to phase out this hunting of the Big 5 culture and encourage conservation of these species to prevent extinction. The black rhino, a sub species of the rhinoceros faced functional extinction in 2018 when the last male northern white rhino in the world passed on leaving behind only 2 female rhinos which you can trek on your Uganda safari headed to the Zziwa Rhino sanctuary.
The Cape buffalo is one of the five that has big numbers and has no issue of conservation and is the most hunted because of this. However, most of the destinations do not support hunting or poaching of any wild animal due to the conservation plans for the parks however some individuals have defied and continued to poach these animals lowering their initial numbers.
The lions also have had a decline in number according to World Conservation Society (WCS) where there were about 600 lions in Uganda alone a decade ago but with the recount of late has the lion count at about 468 lions left. The leopard numbers are also estimated to about 26 to 37 individuals according to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered species (CITES).
Where can you visit the Big five in Uganda.
The Northern white rhino, one of the big five animals, can only be visited in the Zziwa Rhino Sanctuary enroute to the Murchison falls national park and the Uganda Wildlife Education in Center in Entebbe. You can spend a 2 to 3 hours trekking the rhinos in the Zziwa rhino sanctuary for a chance with the last remaining of the rhinos in the world. The Entebbe zoo is a home to 2 of the rhinos. You should also keep in mind that these rhinos cannot be seen in the national parks on the game drives.
A game drive in the savannah plains of Murchison falls national park, Queen Elizabeth national park, Kidepo valley national park and the Lake Mburo national park will give you a chance with big herds of the African elephant, herds of the cape buffaloes and prides of lions on a great day. The female lion is most likely to be the first to spot in a pride of lions when hunting for their young ones. The leopards are also a common sighting in these national parks on the early morning or evening savannah game drives, as they hunt for their prey of the day.
You may take on a boat trip on the River Nile when in Murchison falls national park or on the Kazinga channel when in Queen Elizabeth to see the elephants that may be at the river or channel banks. This is very common in the dry months where even the lions get to the water bodies or water ponds for some fresh water. The Akagera national park of Rwanda is a great destination to spot these big 5 along with the Serengeti national park of Tanzania and Masaai Mara national park of Kenya.
These destinations have many more outstanding animals to visit on top of the Big 5 like the mountain gorillas in the Bwindi forest national park and Mgahinga forest national park, the Rothschild giraffe that is common in Murchison falls national park, the chimpanzees that are easily trekked in the Kibaale forest national park, the biggest concentration of hippos in the Queen Elizabeth national park and the cheetah that is a common sighting in the Northern part of Uganda in the Kidepo Valley national park.
