In Africa, the Big five game animals are the lion, leopard, rhinoceros, elephant, and African buffalo. The term was coined by big-game hunters to refer to the five most difficult animals in Africa to hunt on foot, but is now more widely used by game viewing tourists and safari tour operators. They are examples of charismatic megafauna, featuring prominently in popular culture, and are among the most famous of Africa's large animals.
The big five
African bush elephant (Loxodonta africana)
Black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis)
African buffalo (Syncerus caffer)
The African buffalo is a large sub-Saharan African bovine. There are five subspecies that are recognized as being valid. Syncerus caffer caffer, the Cape buffalo, is the nominotypical subspecies, and the largest one, found in Southern Africa and East Africa. S. c. nanus is the smallest subspecies, common in forest areas of Central Africa and West Africa, while S. c. brachyceros is in West Africa and S. c. aequinoctialis is in the savannas of East Africa. The adult African buffalo's horns are its characteristic feature: they have fused bases, forming a continuous bone shield across the top of the head, referred to as a "boss".
Image: African buffalo (Syncerus caffer caffer) male with cattle egret
Image: Syncerus caffer nanus 001
Male African buffalo with red-billed oxpecker, partly a symbiotic relationship and partly parasitic
A pair of African buffalo resting inside Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania.