In Africa, the little
five game animals are:
·
Elephant shrew: a small,
insect-eating mammal with a long nose. Elephant shrews are very common in
Southern Africa but seldom seen.
·
Buffalo weaver: the buffalo weaver is
the easiest among the little five to find and observe.
·
Leopard tortoise
·
Antlion or ant lion
·
Rhino beetle
The term little
five was brought to life, after safari tourists' successful wildlife
experience of the big five in Southern Africa. It was after
a call by nature conservationists for visitors also to acknowledge the smaller
— less noticed — but still enigmatic, animals of the savanna (called bushveld in
South Africa).
Each "little"
species is a contradiction in sheer size to the big five animal, but the first
part of its English name relates to
one of the famous bigger five animals one-on-one.