The Big 5 Safari animal list - By authority Howard Hillman

How to avoid the
top 10 safari mistakes

Introduction
Spending too little
Group tours
Missing the best hours
Minivans
Self driving
Uncomfortable camp
Dusty air
Booking
Wrong clothing
Camera shake

More mistakes

Binoculars
Transfers
Dining
Learning

Top 5 safari rankings

My other safari pages

Kenya vs Tanzania

Big 5 safari animal list

Animal facts & tidbits

What it's like on a luxury safari

Safari locator maps

World wonders

Top 100
Top 1000

Site map
About me and my credentials
About my website
Reader testimonials
Email me your opinion

Comparing the
hunter's and Hillman's
Big 5 safari lists

and why they're different

Hunter's Big 5

It was created in the bygone days when people went to Africa to hunt rather than unobtrusively observe the animals. The Hunter's list defines the top 5 animals that visitors like Ernest Hemingway wanted to shoot and kill for trophies. It celebrates the hunting and killing of safari animals.

Hillman's Big 5

I began my list decades ago to spotlight the animals that safari-goers want to shoot with their cameras, not guns.

While the Hunter's Big 5 list includes the buffalo, mine does not. It's replaced with the cheetah, which ranks higher with current safari-goers. Even the crocodile, giraffe and hippo rank higher than the buffalo.