The African Big Five
* African Big Five game in Cape Town * The term African Big Five game refers to the 5 animals who were the most difficult ones to hunt on foot in Africa (fortunately it is not allowed to hunt them anymore)and they are also amongst the most dangerous mammals.
They are the symbols of South Africa.
They are represented on the South African notes: the rhinoceros on the R10, the African elephant on the R20, the lion on the R50, the Cape buffalo on the R100 and the Leopards on the R200.
* Apart from the notes, you can obviously see them in real and while you are on vacation in Cape Town in game farms such as Fairy Glen Private Game Reserve which is 1 hour drive from Cape Town.
* Otherwise, you can see some of them individually in different reserves and parks.
* THE ELEPHANT * Elephants are beautiful animals with personalities and...
astonished memory.
If you hurt an elephant, he will remember you for the rest of his life so interact gently with them whilst you decide to ride them, do a baby elephant walk, feed them or even splash in the water with them.
Whatever interaction you chose to have with them, you will remember it! * If you come to South Africa, you have to do a baby elephant walk or even better an elephant back safari! This is the type of experience that you will never forget.
It will fill your heart with joy and you will feel even more respectful for these amazing creatures.
* Addo Elephant Park (5hours drive) has 450 elephants and it is probably the best place to see wild elephants in their habitat.
* In other parks such as the Elephant Sanctuary in Plettenberg Bay, you could also have fantastic experiences such as touching and feeding baby elephants or enjoying a baby elephant walk.
* THE LION * When lions hunt, it is mostly in group to get large prey which means more food! The lions encircle the prey, knock it and kill it with a bite to the neck.
Lions will hunt alone if the opportunity presents itself.
* They are also expert scavengers by stealing kills from hyenas or wild dogs.
They can run up to 60kmph but they are not good on a long distance and need to be fairly close to their faster quarries.
They eat games, turtles, rodents, lizards, fishes, birds, giraffes, leopards, cheetah, etc.
* Less hunting is done during the day, due to the heat, so it is the perfect time for resting which they do up to 20 hours a day.
Lions seem to enjoy lots of touching, licking and purring.
They also love rubbing each other which can sometimes be very vigorous.
* This is such a respectful animal and it is amazing to learn how they behave and understand better why they are known as the King.
Drakenstein Lion Park in Paarl (40min drive from Cape Town) provides information about lions and their tours are an experience you would be able to remember all your life.
They even offer you 'to adopt' lions meaning that you will be able to sponsor a specific lion to help the park to look after him * THE BUFFALO * Certain reserve such as Phinda has big groups of buffalos that you can approach during game drives.
The experience can be intense...
Imagine, it is pitch dark, you are on a game drive, sitting in a ranger car, you have to cross a bridge with no other alternative and on the other side there is a huge group of buffalos...
You can hear them breathing and you can see with the headlights, their breathe smoke coming out of their nasals...
* THE RHINOCEROS * Do you know why the rhino is one of the most dangerous animal? * Because it does not warn when it is going to attack.
Once, a ranger has been what was the most scariest moment in his ranger's life.
It was during a bush walk with a group of tourists in a reserve where one of the tourist was so obsessive to take a nice picture of a rhino that he walked towards him despite the ranger's orders to stop.
And suddenly, the rhino looked at him and started to run.
The ranger and the whole group together screamed...
'You have no idea how loud people can scream when they are life threatened, but it was a miracle that it made the rhino stopped'.
* Do you know how to distinguish a Black rhino to a White rhino? * Not with the colour because they have the same colour! The Black Rhino is much smaller than the White one, and he has a pointed mouth, which he uses to grasp leaves.
* Where to see them? * They do not need lots of water, neither trees to live so you can see them in pretty much any reserve.
* THE LEOPARD * There are less and less leopard living on planet earth and most of them are in the Sub Sahara region.
During the day, they stay in secluded spots or they lye in high branches of trees.
And for that reason, it is very difficult to see them.
They are the symbols of South Africa.
They are represented on the South African notes: the rhinoceros on the R10, the African elephant on the R20, the lion on the R50, the Cape buffalo on the R100 and the Leopards on the R200.
* Apart from the notes, you can obviously see them in real and while you are on vacation in Cape Town in game farms such as Fairy Glen Private Game Reserve which is 1 hour drive from Cape Town.
* Otherwise, you can see some of them individually in different reserves and parks.
* THE ELEPHANT * Elephants are beautiful animals with personalities and...
astonished memory.
If you hurt an elephant, he will remember you for the rest of his life so interact gently with them whilst you decide to ride them, do a baby elephant walk, feed them or even splash in the water with them.
Whatever interaction you chose to have with them, you will remember it! * If you come to South Africa, you have to do a baby elephant walk or even better an elephant back safari! This is the type of experience that you will never forget.
It will fill your heart with joy and you will feel even more respectful for these amazing creatures.
* Addo Elephant Park (5hours drive) has 450 elephants and it is probably the best place to see wild elephants in their habitat.
* In other parks such as the Elephant Sanctuary in Plettenberg Bay, you could also have fantastic experiences such as touching and feeding baby elephants or enjoying a baby elephant walk.
* THE LION * When lions hunt, it is mostly in group to get large prey which means more food! The lions encircle the prey, knock it and kill it with a bite to the neck.
Lions will hunt alone if the opportunity presents itself.
* They are also expert scavengers by stealing kills from hyenas or wild dogs.
They can run up to 60kmph but they are not good on a long distance and need to be fairly close to their faster quarries.
They eat games, turtles, rodents, lizards, fishes, birds, giraffes, leopards, cheetah, etc.
* Less hunting is done during the day, due to the heat, so it is the perfect time for resting which they do up to 20 hours a day.
Lions seem to enjoy lots of touching, licking and purring.
They also love rubbing each other which can sometimes be very vigorous.
* This is such a respectful animal and it is amazing to learn how they behave and understand better why they are known as the King.
Drakenstein Lion Park in Paarl (40min drive from Cape Town) provides information about lions and their tours are an experience you would be able to remember all your life.
They even offer you 'to adopt' lions meaning that you will be able to sponsor a specific lion to help the park to look after him * THE BUFFALO * Certain reserve such as Phinda has big groups of buffalos that you can approach during game drives.
The experience can be intense...
Imagine, it is pitch dark, you are on a game drive, sitting in a ranger car, you have to cross a bridge with no other alternative and on the other side there is a huge group of buffalos...
You can hear them breathing and you can see with the headlights, their breathe smoke coming out of their nasals...
* THE RHINOCEROS * Do you know why the rhino is one of the most dangerous animal? * Because it does not warn when it is going to attack.
Once, a ranger has been what was the most scariest moment in his ranger's life.
It was during a bush walk with a group of tourists in a reserve where one of the tourist was so obsessive to take a nice picture of a rhino that he walked towards him despite the ranger's orders to stop.
And suddenly, the rhino looked at him and started to run.
The ranger and the whole group together screamed...
'You have no idea how loud people can scream when they are life threatened, but it was a miracle that it made the rhino stopped'.
* Do you know how to distinguish a Black rhino to a White rhino? * Not with the colour because they have the same colour! The Black Rhino is much smaller than the White one, and he has a pointed mouth, which he uses to grasp leaves.
* Where to see them? * They do not need lots of water, neither trees to live so you can see them in pretty much any reserve.
* THE LEOPARD * There are less and less leopard living on planet earth and most of them are in the Sub Sahara region.
During the day, they stay in secluded spots or they lye in high branches of trees.
And for that reason, it is very difficult to see them.
