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SCOTT DICKEN
Photos by Scott Dicken
Africa’s Big-Five:
A SAFARI HIGHLIGHT
A
fter what feels like a lifetime, and with the recent easing of COVID testing requirements to reenter the States, I’m finally back on the road (somewhat integral to the writing of a travel column). As I write my column this month, I’m sitting in a traditional Kosovar restaurant in Pristina, Kosovo while simultaneously attempting to plan a forthcoming trip to Mozambique and South Africa. The planning of the latter, which will incorporate several days on Safari in Kruger National Park, has rekindled my passion for safari – something that’s had to be shelved for the last few years. For that reason, the focus of this month’s column is safari’s infamous “BigFive”. If you’ve ever been on Safari, or even just googled ‘safari’, then you’ve very likely come across the term ‘The Big-Five’. It’s the term used to describe the five animals (lion, leopard, rhino, elephant, and buffalo) that hunters found the most difficult and dangerous to hunt. Thankfully, the term is more prevalently used these days to attract tourists to game parks, reserves, and countries that play host to each of the Big-Five species. There are three important things to note about any attempt to spot the Big-5 on Safari: 16 August 2022
Just because a country hosts the Big-Five doesn’t mean that you’ll be able to see them all on the same safari on the same day (even with all the luck in the world). For example, you have the potential to see four of the Big-Five on a safari in Etosha National Park in Namibia, but if you want to spot a Cape Buffalo you’ll have to head elsewhere in the country. The combination of poaching, which can cause parks and countries to lose Big-Five status, in addition to the translocation of animals, which, for example, made Rwanda a Big-Five country again in 2017, means that country status changes over time (albeit very slowly). Animal Density affects your chances of spotting the Big-Five. Just because a country (or even an individual park) has Big-Five status in no way means you’re guaranteed, or even likely, to see the Big-Five if there are particularly low numbers of any one animal. So, if spotting the Big-Five is an absolute ‘must’ for you then it’s best to check current density levels of each species; or else be faced with trying to find the one remaining black rhino in a country (that’s a fictitious example, but you get my point). LEAVE FOOTPRINTS > PAGE 17
Old Town Crier
