17 May 2021:

The ‘Big 5’ is an old term used by trophy hunters in Africa for the five most prized and dangerous animals to shoot and kill: elephant, rhino, leopard, Cape buffalo and lion.

The New Big 5 project has a better idea: to create a New Big 5 of Wildlife Photography, rather than hunting. Shooting with a camera, not a gun.

More than 250 of the world’s wildlife photographers, conservationists and wildlife charities have come together to support this international initiative, including Jane Goodall, Pavan Sukhdev, Paula Kahumbu, Kaddu Sebunya (AWF), Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, Save The Elephants, Conservation International, Ewaso Lions, Polar Bears International, IFAW, Wildlife Trust of India, Orangutan Foundation, Save The Rhino International, Save Pangolins…

Created by British photographer Graeme Green, the project’s aim is to raise awareness about the crisis facing the world’s wildlife from threats including habitat loss, human-wildlife conflict, poaching, illegal wildlife trade and climate change.

Since launching in April 2020, the New Big 5 website has received more than 50,000 votes from wildlife lovers around the world for their favourite animals to photograph and see in photos, to be included.

The year-long global vote in the New Big 5 of Wildlife Photography led to these chosen 5:

ELEPHANT · POLAR BEAR · GORILLA · TIGER · LION

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Vivek Menon, our Founder and Executive Director and Senior Advisor, IFAW joined four other luminaires to announce the tiger as one of the Big 5. “I’m so happy tigers been given the importance they deserve. Tigers are such fascinating incredible animals. It’s also a flagship species for the conservation of their habitats and all other life that exists there. Poaching for tigers’ body parts has taken a heavy toll for an animal already threatened by forest loss, by the fall in its prey numbers due to hunting, and from human-animal conflict. In India, they are threatened by habitat loss and poaching. Sumatran tigers are even more critically endangered.”

Tigers are listed globally as Endangered by the IUCN. They’re the closest of the big cats to extinction. There are only around 3,900 tigers left in the wild globally but an estimated 20,000 in captivity, many in Tiger King-style ‘zoos’ and ‘sanctuaries’ in the US or kept as pets.

The illegal wildlife trade in tiger bones, skins and other products for traditional Chinese ‘medicine’ or ornaments in China, Vietnam and other parts of Asia continue to drive the rapid decline. Habitat destruction, fragmentation and human-wildlife conflict add to the crisis. Only seven per cent of tigers’ historical range is intact today. In India, tiger numbers are stable and the tiger recognised as India’s National Animal.

Each of the 5 species in the New Big 5 face severe threats to their existence and are listed by the IUCN either as Critically Endangered, Endangered or Vulnerable.

All 5 animals are keystone species, essential to the balance of nature in their habitats, biodiverse ecosystems and the survival of other species. Each species is vital to the health of the planet and to our future.

Graeme Green (photographer / Founder, New Big 5 project) says, “The 5 animals that wildlife lovers around the world have voted to include in the New Big 5 of Wildlife Photography – elephants, gorillas, tigers, lions and polar bears – are not just some of the most beautiful, incredible animals on the planet. All 5 also face serious threats to their existence. The New Big 5 are the tip of the iceberg. They stand for all the creatures on the planet, so many of which are in danger. From bees to blue whales, all wildlife is essential to the balance of nature, to healthy ecosystems and to the future of our planet.”