The Big Five are five African animals: the lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo, and rhinoceros. They are not the five largest animals on the continent: the hippopotamus and the giraffe are much larger than the leopard. The name comes from the big-game hunters of the colonial era, who used it to refer to the five animals that were the most difficult and dangerous to confront on foot. Today, the same term refers to the photographic dream of anyone setting out on a safari, and Tanzania is one of the best places to make that dream come true. In the Ngorongoro Crater, you can see all five in a single day.
| Animal | Scientific name | Adult weight | Status (IUCN Red List) | Best places to see it in Tanzania |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lion | Panthera leo | Females 110–180 kg, males 150–250 kg | Vulnerable | Serengeti, Ngorongoro |
| Leopard | Panthera pardus | Females 20–40 kg, males 30–90 kg | Vulnerable | Central Serengeti (Seronera), Tarangire |
| African savanna elephant | Loxodonta africana | Females about 3,000 kg, males up to 6,000 kg | Endangered | Tarangire, Ruaha, Nyerere (Selous) |
| African buffalo | Syncerus caffer | Up to 800–900 kg | Near Threatened | Throughout the northern parks, Ngorongoro |
| Black Rhinoceros | Diceros bicornis | 800–1,400 kg | Critically Endangered | Ngorongoro Crater, Serengeti (Moru area) |
Why They’re Called the Big Five: A Name That Stems from Hunting
The expression became widespread between the late 19th and early 20th centuries in the accounts of European and American hunters in East and Southern Africa. It is not known for certain who first used it. What is known, however, is what it referred to: the most feared prey—those that, once wounded, could charge, hide, or turn back, and thus truly endangered the hunter. Collecting all five was a prestigious trophy.
For decades, sport hunting—legal but practiced without restrictions—and later poaching for ivory and horn drastically reduced these species. Today, the acronym has taken on a new meaning: the focus has shifted from rifle scopes to camera lenses. In Tanzania, trophy hunting still exists in some reserves and concessions separate from the national parks. In the parks, however, animals are “captured” only through photography. To help you choose your equipment, check out our guide to safari cameras.
The Big Five, One by One
The African Elephant: The Giant of the Baobab Trees
It is the largest land animal on the planet. An adult male can exceed 3.5 meters at the withers and weigh more than 6 metric tons. It lives in family groups led by the oldest female, the matriarch, who remembers the locations of water sources for decades. Every day, it eats over 150 kg of vegetation and drinks up to 200 liters of water.
In 2021, the IUCN distinguished between the savanna elephant and the forest elephant and classified the former as “endangered.” In Tanzania, ivory poaching hit the south particularly hard in the 2000s. Since then, the population has been recovering. The best place to see them is Tarangire National Park, where during the dry season—between July and October—hundreds of elephants gather along the river in the shade of baobab trees.
The Lion: The King Who Sleeps Twenty Hours a Day
It is the second-largest cat in the world, after the tiger, and the only one that lives in prides. Prides consist of related females and their cubs, with one or more males defending them. It is mainly the females who hunt, working as a team to take down wildebeests, zebras, and even buffalo. Lions are inactive for up to 20 hours a day, which is why you often see them lying in the shade during a safari.
Tanzania is home to one of the largest lion populations in Africa, with thousands of lions in the Serengeti ecosystem alone. East African lions, sometimes called “Masai lions,” belong to the subspecies Panthera leo melanochaita, which also includes lions from southern Africa. Their behavior, manes, and rivalries among males are described in our fact sheet on the African lion.
The leopard: the hardest to find
It is solitary, nocturnal, and a master of camouflage, and is almost always the last of the five to appear. It is also the most adaptable of the big cats: it lives in habitats ranging from forests to semidesert savannas. It possesses enormous strength relative to its size. A male weighing 60–70 kg is capable of dragging prey as heavy as himself up into trees to keep it away from lions and hyenas. To spot one, look for the horizontal branches of acacia and sausage trees along the rivers. In the Seronera Valley, in the heart of the Serengeti, sightings are more frequent than elsewhere.
The “black panther” is not a separate species, but a leopard with a dark coat due to melanism, a genetic condition. It is extremely rare in Africa: its spots remain visible when viewed against the light. It should not be confused with the cheetah, which has solid spots instead of rosettes and the characteristic black “tears” under its eyes. In fact, the cheetah is not one of the Big Five.
The African buffalo: the “black death” of the savanna
It looks like a massive, docile cow, but it is one of the animals most feared by guides. The African buffalo, or Cape buffalo, lives in herds that can number in the hundreds in the Serengeti. When faced with lions, the herd forms a square and fights back, and it’s not uncommon for the predators to give up. The real danger comes from the solitary, elderly males—irritable and unpredictable—whom hunters used to call the “black death.” The males’ horns fuse at the base to form a bony shield, known as the “boss.”
It is the easiest of the five to spot, and is often seen within the first hour of a safari. In the Ngorongoro Crater, it grazes just a few meters from the jeeps.
The Black Rhinoceros: A Survivor
The list of hunters simply listed “the rhino.” Only the black rhino lives in Tanzania, specifically the eastern subspecies, Diceros bicornis michaeli. Despite its name, it is not black, but gray, just like the “white” rhino. The difference between the two is the mouth:
- The black rhinoceros has a pointed, prehensile upper lip, adapted for plucking leaves and twigs from shrubs;
- The white rhinoceros has a broad, flat snout for grazing on grass and lives primarily in South Africa.
The black rhinoceros is smaller and more solitary than the white rhinoceros, and has a reputation for being skittish because it has poor eyesight and charges anything it does not recognize. In the 1990s, poaching for its horn had reduced the global population to fewer than 2,500 individuals. Today, thanks to armed protection and reintroduction programs, there are about 6,500, but the species remains “critically endangered.” In Tanzania, there are only a few hundred. The Ngorongoro Crater is the best place to spot them, usually from a distance, in the open clearings at the bottom of the caldera. History, statistics, and conservation projects are featured on our page dedicated to the black rhinoceros.
Where to See the Big Five in Tanzania
No park can guarantee sightings, because nature doesn’t follow a schedule. Some, however, offer very different odds:
- Ngorongoro Crater. This is as close to a sure thing as it gets. All five species can be found within the caldera’s approximately 260 km² floor. The leopard is the hardest to spot, as it mainly inhabits the forests along the crater’s rim.
- Serengeti. Lions, leopards, elephants, and buffalo are almost always spotted within two or three days. Rhinos are rare and should be sought in the Moru kopjes area.
- Tarangire and Lake Manyara. These are excellent for elephants, buffalo, and lions. The lions of Manyara are famous because they sometimes climb trees. There are no rhinos here.
- Ruaha and Nyerere (Selous). These parks have large populations of elephants, lions, and buffalo, with far fewer visitors. Rhinos are present, but they are extremely rare to spot.
The most effective combination is therefore the northern circuit: Tarangire, Serengeti, and Ngorongoro in 5–7 days. It is also the route of the The Great Migration, which is home to hundreds of thousands of wildebeests and zebras—and the predators that follow them. A comprehensive overview of protected areas can be found in our guide to National Parks of Tanzania.
Beyond the Five: The Big Seven, the Little Five, and the Other “Lists”
The Big Seven. The Addo Elephant National Park in South Africa is the only park where the Big Five, plus the southern right whale and the great white shark, live—thanks to its marine area. This is not a hunting list, but a concept developed for tourism.
Little Five. These are five tiny animals whose English name is a play on the Big Five:
- theelephant shrew;
- theantlion;
- the leopard tortoise;
- thebuffalo weaver, a bird;
- the rhinocerosbeetle.
Looking for them is a fun game to play with the kids during breaks.
The Other Big Ones. Many guidebooks point out that not all of the most spectacular animals on a safari are included in the list:
- the cheetah darting across the plains;
- the rare and fascinating African wild dog;
- the hippopotamus, the large mammal that causes the most accidents involving humans in Africa;
- the giraffe;
- antelopes such as the greater kudu, with its spiral horns.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Big Five
What are the Big Five?
The Big Five are the lion, the leopard, the African elephant, the African buffalo, and the rhinoceros. In Tanzania, the rhinoceros found there is the black rhinoceros.
Why are they called the Big Five?
The name comes from the big-game hunters of the colonial era. It referred to the five animals that were the most difficult and dangerous to hunt on foot, not the five largest: the hippopotamus and the giraffe, for example, are larger than the leopard.
Where can you see the Big Five in Tanzania?
The best place is the Ngorongoro Crater, where all five species live and where you can see them all in a single day. A safari that combines Ngorongoro, the Serengeti, and Tarangire offers an excellent chance of spotting them all.
Which of the Big Five is the hardest to spot?
The leopard is generally the hardest to spot because it is solitary, primarily nocturnal, and highly camouflaged. In Tanzania, the black rhinoceros is also rare, but it is seen fairly frequently in the Ngorongoro Crater.
Is the cheetah one of the Big Five?
No, the cheetah is not one of the Big Five. The spotted feline on the list is the leopard, which can be recognized by its rosette-shaped spots and the absence of the black stripes that the cheetah has under its eyes.
When is the best time to see the Big Five?
The dry season, from June to October, is the best time: the grass is short, and the animals gather near water. In the Ngorongoro Crater, however, sightings are good year-round.
Checking all five names off the list is rewarding, but the most vivid memory will likely be the way you encountered them: an elephant crossing the trail, a leopard stretching out on a branch at sunset. Our guides in Arusha know where to find them in every season. Let us know your dates by message and we’ll tell you which parks offer the best chances during that time. Or start with a tried-and-true itinerary like the Kudu Safari and tailor it to your needs.
