Hunting the Big Five

The name of the game is game spotting. They have these game trips, where they take you out in a kind of safari vehicle/bus thingie that is open on all sides (and if it rains - tough). They have a guide and a driver (or sometimes a guide/driver) who takes you around, and points out the interesting game and gives you some explanation about the animals. Of course, they rely on the passengers to point things out, which can lead to some amusing moments. Some of the animals are easy to spot, but others you can barely see in the tall undergrowth, and when they stand still they look like rocks. And if that isn't complicated enough, some of the rocks look like animals. In most places they are very eco-concious, and make a point of telling people that the animals aren't there for our viewing pleasure. We are the ones invading their domain. Usually before you go out they give you quite strict instructions, like: don't stand up while the vehicle is moving, don't take flash pictures if we tell you not to. One of our guides even told us that if for some reason an animal attacks the vehicle do not jump out, as you never know what might be hiding in the tall grass. (You could run into a pride of lions and not know they're there until one of them was breaking your neck). It's better, he said, to hide underneath the seat. When he noticed me look quite dubiously at the cramped leg space and low seats he said "Don't worry, if it comes to it you'll be surprised at how much room there is under there".
They're called the Big Five not because of their size but because they are the most difficult and the most dangerous to hunt on foot. And they are:
Lion

Leopard

Elephant

Rhinocerous

Cape Buffalo


Of course, if there is a Big Five then there must also be a Small Five. So someone came up with a list of small animals who's names contain members of the Big Five (Elephant shrew, Leopard Tortoise, Ant Lion, Rhinocerous Beetle, and Buffalo Weaver).

And then, five being such a popular number, somebody made a list of the Ugly Five:
Warthog Wildebeest Vulture Maribu Stork They call the Maribu stork "preachers" or "undertakers" because they kind of look like they're wearing a seedy black suit with a white shirt (kind of like a preacher or an undertaker).
And Hyenas. Unfortunately hyenas are mainly nocturnal animals, and while we did get to see a couple of hyenas I couldn't get a good enough shot of any of them to warrant including it. So for the purposes of animal shooting it can't really be counted...

I looked all over but I found no mention of a Beautiful Five (it seems I am not that well known....)
Next:The Lion Sleeps Tonight