Click on each respective animal below to learn more:

Lion       Leopard       Buffalo       Rhinoceros       Elephant       Wild Dog        Cheetah

“Not even Tanzania’s famed Serengeti Game Reserve or the awesome Ngorongoro Crater fills your camera viewfinder faster with Africa’s legendary Big Five – at MalaMala, lion, leopard, buffalo, rhinoceros and elephant appear magically, as if on cue,” says acclaimed wildlife photojournalist Geoff Dalglish in his Sunday Times review. “Nor could Hollywood script the wide-screen wildlife encounters any more dramatically or frequently than nature does routinely in the private game reserve that is arguably South Africa’s most famous internationally.”

Lion, Leopard, Elephant, Buffalo and Rhinoceros - the most sought after and dangerous of the world's big game. In previous centuries it was these five species which gripped the imagination of hunters and sportsmen, drawing them to Africa to experience the blood pounding thrill of hunting and shooting "The Big Five". It is in reserves like Mala Mala where this hunting and shooting still takes place, only the hunting is done by experienced rangers and Shangaan trackers, and the shooting is done with cameras. But it does not mean that the thrill and exhilaration of encountering these animals in an open Land Rover is any less gripping.

Folk lore and legend are rich with regards to the Big Five. Encompassing beliefs such as the following: " The Great One put the animals here for us to use wisely and respect, even as we hunted them, but he knew that without fear we might lose our respect for these creatures. So he put the five here to help us remember. The lion and leopard taught us fear of the night, that only the daytime was ours. The buffalo, the elephant and the rhino taught us to fear their strength, that we might respect the strength of nature."

• The Big 5 were recorded on all but

9	days in	2008
21	days in	2007
23	days in	2006
28	days in	2005
37	days in	2004
30	days in	2003
47	days in	2002
62	days in	2001
* 67	days in	2000
24	days in	1999
19	days in	1998
33	days in	1997
49	days in	1996
82	days in	1994
82	days in	1995

* February and March 2000 saw the closure of all camps at Mala Mala due to the worst ever recorded floods. Despite this, the Big Five were seen on 239 days in 2000 (February & March excluded)