Posted by Lisa | Posted in General Travel | Posted on 08-08-2009
Tags: Africa holidays, Kenya holidays, safari holidays, safaris, tanzania holidays, travel abroad, zambia holidays
The thing with going on safari here is that you will be able to see the “Big Five”. The name Big Five was originally coined by hunters because these animals were supposed to be the hardest game to hunt and find.
The proud pride owner the Lion. The Lion is but only the second largest of the Big Cats, but Tigers aren’t present in the Mara. Lions in general are keystone predators which means they hunt and take down their own food, rather than scavenge, although if the opportunity arises they will take it. In some strange and interesting cases, the Lion has been known to attack people, and sometimes it even has stalked Humans as food.
The ever majestic African Elephant. The one main thing about the elephant is it’s sheer and complete size, this animal reaches an impressive 5 and a half tonnes, and can grow taller than 3 metres. An elephant has 4 molars for teeth and they are each 12 inches long, and weigh about five kilograms. Two and a half metres long is the average length of the elephants tusks.
Then there is the Cape buffalo. This animal is one of the preys of lions that are actually pretty good at defending themselves; they have even been known to kill lions as well. The Cape buffalo is regarded as one of the most dangerous animals in Mara; it is a very short temper and is reported to have killed about 200 people every year.
The Black Rhinoceros. The Black Rhino has not been all that well named, unfortunately it was due to the name of the White Rhino that the so called “Black Rhino” received it’s own. The Black and White Rhino are so similar in colour it’s almost impossible to tell them apart by looking at their skin. The White Rhino was actually a mistranslation from the Dutch word “Weit”. The literal meaning of this word actually means Wide, this was because the White Rhino had a square like structure to it’s lip, but the Black Rhino had a pointed lip.
Finally the Leopard. This is the smallest of the Big Cats, but is by no means the slowest. This Cat isn’t really recognised for its speed; it can run up to 36 mph and can jump up to 3 metres vertically into the air. The Leopard is also a very powerful climber and a supreme swimmer.
So if you would like to go and see the Big Five then why not try Kenya holidays, Tanzania holidays or Zambia holidays. You will find them around these key locations.
