The Big 5

Kenya is considered the world’s capital of safaris due to its numerous wildlife parks and the huge amounts of wild animals roaming these parks. There are 5 wild animals in particular that are very popular and are commonly referred to as the BIG FIVE. The members of the big five were chosen for the difficulty in hunting them and not their size and they consist of the Lion, Leopard, Elephant, Buffalo and the Rhinoceros. I've highlighted some facts on the big 5.

Lion (Simba in Swahili)
I think lions are symbolic of the African wild. Don’t believe me, just watch the crowds that gather around these big cats when they are spotted in a national park. Lions are the only cats that live in groups, called prides. Female lions do all the hunting while the males rule the groups. Lions prey on grazing animals such as gazelles, zebras or wildebeest. Since most of the animals are faster than the lionesses they hunt as a team. Lions prefer hunting at night but are also active during the day.

Leopard (Chui in Swahili)
The leopard is the most secretive and elusive of the large carnivores. Leopards are basically solitary and go out of their way to avoid one another and any encounter may result in a fierce fight. Leopards are also the strongest climbers of all the large cats and are capable of killing prey larger than itself and dragging it up a tree. Lions and hyenas will take a leopards kill if they can so the dragging of prey up a tree is done so that the leaopards can feed in relative safety. The all-black variation of the leopard (called a black panther) has been spotted in the forested regions of Kenya, but never on the plains.

Elephant (Ndovu)
The African elephant is the largest living land mammal, one of the most impressive animals on earth. It is distinguished by its high level of intelligence and complex social structure – they take care or weak, injured or orphaned members and seem to grieve over dead companions. Elephants have an amazing trunk that acts as a nose, hand, extra foot, signaling device and a tool for gathering food, siphoning water, dusting, digging and other functions. The elephant’s ears are huge and very useful. They use their ears to signal or warn when alarmed or angry and also use them to control body tempreture. Elephants are hunted for their tusks for ivory. Elephants can live up to 60 – 70 years of age and they usually die of malnutrition because they can’t chew properly after their teeth are worn out.

Buffalo (Nyati)
Buffaloes are large, heavy, cowlike animals. The buffalo live all across the country, in both the grasslands and the forested regions. Buffaloes have a bad reputation and are regarded as unpredictable and dangerous because they attack when cornered or wounded though if left alone they are usually placid. Buffaloes spend more time feeding at night than during the day. They seem to have a relatively poor ability to regulate body temperature and remain in the shade for long periods of time in the heat of the day, or wallow in mud.

Rhinoceros (Kifaru)
There are 2 species of rhino in Kenya, the black rhino and the white rhino. The white rhino's name derives means wide, a reference to its wide, square muzzle adapted for grazing. The black, or hooked-lipped, rhino, along with all other rhino species, is an odd-toed ungulate (three toes on each foot). It has a thick, hairless, gray hide. Both the black and white rhino have two horns, the longer of which sits at the front of the nose. The black rhino is usually solitary. The white rhino tends to be much more gregarious. Rhinos are also rather ill-tempered and have been known to charge without apparent reason. When attacking, the rhino lowers its head, snorts, breaks into a gallop reaching speeds of 30 miles an hour, and gores or strikes powerful blows with its horns. Still, for all its bulk, the rhino is very agile and can quickly turn in a small space. The rhino has a symbiotic relationship with oxpeckers, also called tick birds. In Swahili the tick bird is named "askari wa kifaru," meaning "the rhino's guard." The bird eats ticks it finds on the rhino and noisily warns of danger. Although the birds also eat blood from sores on the rhino's skin and thus obstruct healing, they are still tolerated.