The Big Five

Much is made of the Big Five on safari: elephants, buffalo, lions, leopards and rhinos. But these are not literally the biggest animals. In colonial times, they were just the five hardest animals to hunt on foot. The label stuck, even though cameras, and not guns, are brandished at them today!

Unfortunately, the leopard evaded us in Kenya and we saw only four of the big five. According to Stephen's meticulous record keeping, we came across at an impressive 47 different species during our week in Kenya!

Here is the full list:

1 Lion (Masai Mara; Lake Nakuru).
2 Cape Buffalo (Masai Mara; Lake Nakuru; Aberdare)
3 Cheetah (Masai Mara)
4 African Elephant (Masai Mara; Aberdare)
5 Wildebeest or Gnu (Masai Mara)
6 Masai Giraffe (Masai Mara)
7 Hippopotamus (Masai Mara)
8 Crocodile (Masai Mara)
9 Crowned Crane (Masai Mara; Aberdare)
10 Lilac-breasted Roller (Masai Mara)
11 Marabou Stork (Masai Mara; Mount Kenya)
12 Red-Billed Ox-Picker (Masai Mara)
13 White-Backed Vulture (Masai Mara)
14 Ostrich (Masai Mara)
15 Vervet Monkey (Masai Mara; Lake Nakuru)
16 Thomson Gazelle (Masai Mara; Lake Nakuru)
17 Topi (Masai Mara)
18 Impala (Masai Mara; Lake Nakuru; Aberdare)
19 Warthog (Masai Mara; Lake Nakuru; Aberdare)
20 Olive Baboon (Masai Mara; Lake Nakuru)
21 Waterbuck (Masai Mara; Lake Nakuru)
22 Bat-Eared Fox (Masai Mara; Lake Nakuru)
23 Black-backed Jackal (Masai Mara)
24 Spotted Hyena (Masai Mara; Aberdare)
25 Zebra (Masai Mara; Lake Nakuru; Aberdare)
26 Dik-dik (Masai Mara)
27 Flamingo (Lake Nakuru)
28 White Rhino (Lake Nakuru)
29 Grant’s Gazelle (Lake Nakuru)
30 Eland Antelope (Lake Nakuru)
31 Crowned Plover (Lake Nakuru)
32 White Pelican (Lake Nakuru)
33 Egyptian Goose (Lake Nakuru; Aberdare)
34 Helmeted Guinea Fowl (Lake Nakuru)
35 Blue Starling (Lake Nakuru)
36 Bushbuck (Aberdare)
37 Reticulated Giraffe (Aberdare)
38 Black-tipped Mongoose (Aberdare)
39 Suni (Aberdare)
40 Scaly Francolin (Aberdare)
41 Common Bulbul (Aberdare)
42 Streaky Seed-Eater (Aberdare)
43 Speckled Mousebird (Aberdare)
44 Large Spotted Genet (Aberdare)
45 Giant Forest Hog (Aberdare)
46 Coypu (Aberdare)
47 Hadada Ibis (Aberdare, Mount Kenya)