Game reserves

Big 5 game in South Africa

South African holidays - sights and activities - Game reserves

Last Updated on Monday, 17 May 2010 10:26 Written by Helga McLeod Saturday, 27 February 2010 09:03

The African Big 5 consists of the elephant, lion and leopard, rhinoceros and African buffalo. To observe these majestic animals in the wild is a life-changing experience and the main reason for many to visit South Africa. Make sure your holiday accommodation is near the entrance of your desired game reserve and on its malaria status.

Elephants are incredibly intelligent and the largest mammal (in particular the African elephant) and land animal alive. They are also record-holders for the longest pregnancy periods (22 months) plus largest brain of land animals.

African elephants can weigh up to 7500 kg and reach 4m. The African elephant has very large ears that are vital for temperature regulation. Made up of a huge network of blood vessels, they flap these ears in hot weather, thus cooling the blood down, to be circulated through the body again. Their growing tusks are used for diggers and their trunks to tear up food and also for sucking water up for drinking and bathing. When bathing, an elephant will spray itself with a runny mud mixture to serve as sunscreen on a skin that is 2,5cm thick. Their only threat is man, through intrusion and poaching hence them now being a protected species. The female elephant stays in a family made of only female relatives, led by the oldest female. Adult males on the other hand live predominantly alone.

Lions are second largest in the cat family, after the tiger, and can reach a weight of 270kg. Found in savannas and grasslands, bush or forests, lions are social cats and you will find a group of related females (who does most of the hunting), dominant males (loved for their manes) and young ones forming prides. Being a vulnerable species that has declined from 30% to 50% in the last 20 years, again man is responsible for intrusion and hunting and another cause for death is other lions. Hunting and socialising occurs mostly between sunset and sunrise when lions use their strong jaws and long canine teeth plus powerful legs, to catch and kill large animals such as wildebeest, zebras, buffalo, impalas and other. Yet, this King of the Jungle as the lion is known from childhood has also been known to become man-eaters.

Leopards are graceful and agile, are between 1m and 2m long and with a shoulder height of 50 - 80cm. Males are the larger and can weigh between 40 - and 90kg compared to the female 30 - 60kg. Covered with irregular rosettes, serving as camouflage, leopards are excellent and opportunistic hunters due to powerful jaw muscles plus excellent hearing and sight, yet they are willing to eat anything big or small. They are both strong climbers and swimmers. Leopards that are melanistic are either completely black or very dark and titled Black Panthers, appearing mostly in rain forests and mountain areas. These nocturnal cats are anti-social and will easily restrict contact with others to reproduction purposes only. Two or three cubs are born in a litter but few ever survive.

Rhinoceros, or rhino, are large, heavy herbivores weighing up to a ton or more and with a skin of 1,5 - 5cm thickness. Rhinos are admired, and hunted, for their horns which are unique in that they are made of keratin. The 2 African species are Black (with pointed lips for eating foliage) and White Rhinos (with broad flat lips for grazing). The rhino population is under great threat of which the least threatened is the White Rhino. They have large heads, broad chests and have two horns of which the larger front one can reach 85 - 150cm in length. Black Rhinos are coloured very similar to White Rhinos and are grey to yellowish grey, have a larger front horn too but can in fact grow a third smaller horn. Rhinos are not known for good eyesight and rely mostly on smell.

African, or Cape Buffalo are tall adult creatures of between 1,5 and almost 3m to shoulder height and the smaller female can weigh about 450kg where the male can reach up to 600 - 750kg. Yet bulls of over 10 can reach an impressive 900kg. These creatures are undermined by none and only the human gun seems to leave them defenceless. It does kill many humans each year. Found from woodlands, savannahs and wallows, herds consist of females and their children. Younger males belong to bachelor groups and older males often live alone.

Game-viewers will find South Africa has fantastic accommodation listed here and fore more attractions and tourist activities visit our pages on sights and activities.

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