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 to hunt on foot. The Big Five has a long hunting history that started at the end of the 19th century during colonial times. Today, they are still hunted by but are more often targets of ecotourists and safari tour operators. The hunting of Big Five game species can be lucrative for game preserves, presenting opportunities for conservation, however, there are limitations. All Big Five species are examples of charismatic megafauna, featuring prominently in popular culture, and are among the most famous of Africa's large animals.
Main article: Elephant
The African bush elephant (Loxodonta africana) is the largest extant land animal. Tusks are present on males and females, providing a trophy for hunters and making them prized targets for hunting. The species is listed as endangered by the IUCN.
Main article: Rhinoceros
Both African species of rhinoceros, black and white, have been targeted by trophy hunters historically and are members of the big five. The white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum) is listed as near threatened by the IUCN, and the black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis) is considered to be critically endangered. Both species have two horns keratinized horns on which are desirable as trophies and also in traditional Chinese medicine.
Main article: African buffalo
The African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) is a large horned bovid. The broad horns of the species provide a trophy for hunters. However, the IUCN lists the species as near threatened with a decreasing population trend.
Main article: Leopard
The leopard (Panthera pardus) is a large, carnivorous feline, which has an expansive range across Africa and Asia, their habitat varies greatly from tropical forests, plains, deserts and mountains. Being a large carnivore hunting is desirable target for hunters due to the perceived danger of hunting a large carnivore. The IUCN lists the species as vulnerable with a decreasing population.
Main article: Lion
The lion (Panthera leo) is a large, carnivorous feline found throughout Africa, with a small population in the Gir Forest of northwestern India. As a large and charismatic apex predator with cultural significance, lions are among the most popular species to view on safari tours, and desirable for hunters given the perceived danger of hunting a large carnivore. The IUCN lists the species as vulnerable.
Historically, African elephants have been hunted and killed for two main reasons, sports and their ivory (tusks). The hunting of elephants began with European explorers and colonial hunters in the late 19th and early 20th centuries with the rise in popularity of Big game hunting in Africa. Luxury items such as carved objects or piano keys were made from ivory taken from elephant tusks and were sold at a high price in an international market, which increased the hunting pressure on elephants.
During the 20th century, there was further decrease of elephant populations due to the combination of legal hunting of elephants as well as the illegal poaching for their ivory. Studies have demonstrated that elephant populations and behaviours are affected by poaching, for example, it has been shown that when elephants perceive hunting pressure they may alter their migratory patterns.
The rhinoceros was once very abundant across the African continent, with populations of around 500 000 animals in the early twentieth century. During expeditions to Southern Africa in the 1830s, large numbers of black rhinoceros were reported, though those expeditions often included hunting the animals as game. Concern over their declining numbers emerged early on, as officials in Kenya were already alarmed by large scale poaching by 1906. By 1932, extinction was considered a serious possibility, with observers reporting that rhinoceros were being killed faster than they could reproduce. By the 1960s, very few numbers of black rhinoceros remained south of the Rivers Zambezi and Kunene. In 2011, the Western black rhinoceros was declared extinct by the IUCN, with poaching being the primary cause.
Beyond trophy hunting, rhinoceros have been targeted by poachers due to the high value placed on their horn. The market price has risen from $550 per kilogram in 1979 to $60,000 per kilogram today. Poaching is also driven by illegal trade supplying some Asian Markets, where rhinoceros horn is valued for its perceived medicinal properties. Legal hunting of black and white rhinoceros happens on a small regulated scale in South Africa and Namibia. From the first regulated hunt in 1972 through 2018, 2,538 white rhinoceros were hunted in South Africa and 61 in Namibia. From 2005 to 2018, 47 black rhinoceros were hunted in South Africa and 12 in Namibia. By contrast, 6,087 rhinoceros were recorded as poached in South Africa and Namibia from 2013 to 2017, compared to 423 legally hunted rhinoceros over the same period.
In the early 1800s, hunting of valuable game like buffalo in many African countries was tightly controlled by the Indigenous tribes in the area, and these groups imposed strict regulations on visitors in their territory. Leaders and ruling families of these groups were responsible for hunting management and ensuring conservation of commonly hunted animals to prevent population collapse. With the creation of colonies in Africa, foreign countries took over conservation and hunting management, and settles began to hunt the local animals more aggressively. Settlers also expanded the agriculture and livestock industries in African countries, which led to large areas of land being used for farming and the spread of more zoonotic diseases. One example of this is Rinderpest, or cattle plague, one of the most dangerous diseases for cattle, which killed entire herds throughout many European countries in the 1800s. A Rinderpest outbreak in the 1880s in Africa decimated buffalo populations, and it was thought that the disease was brought to the continent through imported cattle from Europe.
Traditionally, buffalo were not thought to be necessary of protection or conservation because they were so common. However in the late 1800s, hunters started to realize the effects of uncontrolled hunting, and this led to the creation of the first African hunting reserve For example, Selous Game Reserve was first created in 1896 to preserve the hunting populations of local animals, and was eventually expanded and turned into a reserve sanctuary where hunting quotas are strictly enforced. It now houses the biggest population of African buffalo in the world.
Leopards have been commonly hunted for fur and for use in traditional medicines and other practices. Their bones, teeth, claws and fat have been used in traditional African medicines and religious ceremonies. The skins are often used as a part of ceremonial regalia in several countries. Traditionally, this was reserved for African royalty but leopard skin garments have become more common in recent decades for people, mostly men, of all classes to be worn during religious gatherings.
The big cats have also been killed due to their infrequent attacks on people and livestock. In several cases, leopards have become so called man-eaters. During the colonial era they were hunted by professional hunters such as Jim Corbett and Kenneth Anderson in India. This history of conflict has influenced the hunting of the species and many leopards have been killed due to the assumed threat they pose to villages and livestock. 133 leopards were culled in South Africa between 1920-1922, and more recently, 120 leopard trophies were exported from South Africa per year between 2004 and 2006. The effects of trophy hunting on leopard populations is still uncertain. Hunting of coexisting lions have resulted in a mesopredator release, where the lions are the apex predators and the leopards are the mesopredators, which has likely masked the detrimental effects of trophy hunting.
Leopards now occupy only about 37% of their native African range, with some estimates as low as 25%. This range reduction is well above average for large carnivores worldwide (63-75% loss compared to an average of about 53% for other predators) and is in part due to hunting, as well as environmental effects like habitat loss. 12 African countries are still allowed to export leopard skins with quotas set by the Convention for the International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES). Tanzania is currently the most popular country for leopard sport hunting and has one of the highest quotas for exporting leopard trophies, they export an average of 303 per year.
The Big Five have held cultural significance across time and cultures worldwide. The Maasai people of Kenya and Tanzania consider elephants to be similar to humans in some ways, recognizing them as Arkanjowe, beings who are big or powerful.
The rhinoceros held cultural significance among the Bantu speakers of Southern Africa, where it served as an emblem of leadership. The Golden Rhinoceros of Mapungubwe figurine (1220-1300) was widely interpreted as a symbol of sacred royal power in southern Africa' earliest known state. The honorific title "rhinoceros horn" was used to address Venda chiefs in royal court speech.
The African buffalo is recognized across several ethnic groups including the Shona, Tsonga, Sotho, and Venda as a sacred totem, with prohibitions against killing or consuming it. The Bisa people of Zambia attribute strength and danger to the buffalo, and consider it to have a strong spiritual force. Across West Africa, masks representing buffalos feature in ceremonies and ritual dances, symbolizing the transition between the wild and human worlds.
Across African kingdoms, both the leopard and the lion were associated with royalty and political power. Royalty were the only people allowed to keep the skins or teeth of either, as they were highly regarded and reserved only for kings. The founder of the Mali Empire, Sundiata Keita was known as Mari-Jata, meaning the Lion of Mali. In Dahomey, the founder of the royal lineage was said to be descended from a leopard. Among the Yoruba, "son of leopard" was a name used for kings. The leopard also featured prominently in bronze art within the Benin Empire.
While trophy hunting has negatively impacted population numbers in the past, it is presently being used to enhance conservation efforts for these important species in many African countries. For example, leopards make up about 8-20% of trophy hunting revenue in eastern and southern Africa and the export of leopard trophies is allowed in some countries, despite being listed as a vulnerable species. Allowing trophy hunting has increased the overall tolerance for leopards near villages and farms, this is also true for other large carnivores thought to be dangerous, so less predators are killed for their perceived threat.
Money generated from trophy hunting and the tourists it attracts can also be used to support conservation projects and encourage the hunters to care more about the longterm survival of these species. However, the use of trophy hunting to support conservation is a controversial topic and has been debated in scientific literature. Critics of trophy hunting posit that trophy hunting is rooted in an anthropocentric western colonial perspective, which cannot be excused and should not be a facet of conservation in any way. Other critics of trophy hunting have acknowledged that trophy hunting can generate funding for conservation, but highlight its negative effects on species and communities through trophic cascades, and changes in natural selection due to the targeting of individuals with impressive "trophies".
On the other hand, experts have argued that trophy hunting confers benefits to conservation because it preserves core habitat, and produces fewer carbon emissions than ecotourism. Furthermore, it has been proposed that the shortcomings of trophy hunting come from corruption in the institutes around it. Another aspect supporting trophy hunting is the opinions of local people. Overall opinions of trophy hunting are favourable, people living on communal lands where trophy hunting is practiced through community based conservation confer benefits from trophy hunting through monetary income and meat. Trophy hunting has also been shown to change local perspectives on living with wildlife, in Kenya community members were more tolerant of large predators such as lions and leopards if they could derive income from trophy hunting.