Big Five

 

Lions top the so-called Big Five, the most popular animals on safaris: lions, leopards, elephants, rhinos and Cape buffalo.

My Big Five would all be predators. Of course, lions and leopards make the cut. I'd also add cheetahs, painted dogs and spotted hyenas.

Here are the Big Five from Kruger National Park.

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A leopard cub rests while hunting the Shingwedzi River with its sibling and mom. Seeing this family was the highlight of my first visit to South Africa.

Cape buffalo are easy to ignore because they behave like domesticated cows most of the time, grazing, swatting flies with their tails and chewing their cud. But this glaring bull reminded me that they are one of the most feared animals in Africa. This is one of my favorite pics. You can feel the misanthropy from a continent away.

A white rhino and her calf finish wallowing in a mud bath to protect themselves from biting flies. White rhinos are named for their wide mouths, perfect for grazing grass. Both white and black rhinos are a rusty gray.

A white rhino appears like a ghost during a night game drive. Poaching has really decimated rhinos in Kruger.

Elephants huddle around a newborn calf while dozing in the afternoon shade. 

A nomadic lion rests in the shade after devouring a zebra he killed in the night.

Twins hunt a riverbed in the midday heat. These young males were probably expelled from their pride recently. They seem to have formed a coalition.

A closer look at this series of pics showed a covey of francolin hens hiding in the ferns just beyond the leopard. Leopard lunch! I didn't see them. She didn't either!

The female leopard stalked the scrub looking for breakfast. I was able to follow the three leopards down the road as they moved through the scrub.

I was lucky to get close enough to capture her stunning pattern of rosettes. Find the hidden Mickey!

A lioness guards the remains of a giraffe she and her pride ambushed near a creekbed.

The big cat suffered in the intense heat while taking shelter in the sad shade of a tiny bush. The rest of the pride retreated to the deeper shade of a creekbed, but she stubbornly refused to abandon her prize.

Rhinos are like tanks. They are impossibly big. 

Buffalo are always on the move looking for fresh pasture.

They have pretty eyes anyway. This one has missing fur, probably from constantly rubbing its itchy face.

Don't challenge an elephant to a water fight!

Elephants cross an open plain under a partly cloudy sky. 

A young lion blends in with the dry grass. In the winter, everything is lion-colored. 

A white rhino lifts its head just long enough for a portrait backlit in the sun.