Kenya's Big Five & Beyond

The true icon of Africa’s Big Five, the African lion is the symbol of strength and power, the epitome of any safari to wild Africa. Today, catching sight of this apex predator is one of the most sought-after prizes for almost every safari-goer, with regal prides located from East to South.

The ground rumbles as you sit tentatively, cameras poised. You hear them before you see them, an almighty crunch as the lead female breaks through the foliage and onto the wide savannah plains, shortly followed by the rest of the herd. The first time you see an African elephant in the wild is a moment to behold; overwhelming in size and beauty, they move almost gracefully across the plains.

Elusive leopards prowl the deserts and bush of Africa in search of unsuspecting ungulates such as zebra and antelope. Due to the threat of lions and hyenas stealing their prey, leopards haul their quarry high into trees to feast on their meal without interruption. Leopards have also been known to use high vantage points to seek out their prey before slinking through the long grass and making the fatal pounce.

One of the Big Five, the Cape Buffalo are susceptible to trophy hunting and are occasionally also hunted for their meat. Buffalo’s territory is somewhat threatened by habitat fragmentation thanks to human encroachment and planned road constructions. Cape buffalo are listed as Least Concern due to the large, widespread populations still remaining across southern and eastern Africa.

Much smaller than its cousin - the white rhino - black rhinos can be distinguished by a number of features but surprisingly colour isn’t one of them. Both black and white rhinos have thick grey hides and one or two horns. Black rhinos, however, have a distinctive prehensile lip which acts as a beak to grasp plants and sticks. They also have a large hump on their neck/back which has developed thanks to the browsing technique used when eating foliage as opposed to the grazing behaviour of white rhinos.