The book was borne out of a project to create a big 5 of photography rather than hunting, as a conservation project to protect vulnerable species and reclaim the gruesome, antiquated term, by asking people around the world to vote on the five animals they would most like to photograph.
Kevin Morgans, Atlantic Puffin. Hermaness National Nature Reserve, Unst, Shetland. IUCN status: Vulnerable “The Atlantic Puffin's global population is on a downward trend. Several factors contribute, including unsustainable fishing, marine pollution, and invasive ground predators, but their main threat arises from the change in distribution and numbers of their primary food source, sandeels. This is due to rising sea temperatures reducing the numbers of plankton in our oceans, the main food source for sandeels, which are in turn the puffins' primary food. A reduction in plankton in our waters has a monumental impact on the food chain, with puffins being forced to abandon their regular feeding grounds in the North Sea and instead journey far into the Atlantic in search of sandeels."
Historically the term 'big 5' has roots in the colonial era and was used by trophy hunters in Africa when referring to the five most prized and dangerous animals to hunt on foot. This group consisted of the elephant, rhino, leopard, Cape buffalo, and lion.
In 2021, more than fifty thousand people voted for the new top 5: elephants, polar bears, lions, gorillas and tigers.
Now a new book is bringing the call to action to life, with the hope of inspiring and raising awareness about the natural world.
David Lloyd, Black Rhino. Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya. IUCN status: Critically Endangered. “Karanja is the name of this iconic black rhinoceros who lived out his years in Kenya’s Maasai Mara until his death of natural causes in December 2014. He boasted what some people believe to be the longest horn in Africa, which measured 34 inches. His second horn is longer than most rhino’s first horn. Karanja even boasted a third, just behind the second. He was the oldest rhino in the reserve, and a rare living link to an era when rhinos were still common."
The book contains 226 photos of creatures in their natural habitats from 146 globally renowned photographers, including Ami Vitale, Marsel van Oosten, Paul Nicklen, Steve McCurry, Karine Aigner, Brian Skerry, Frans Lanting, Marina Cano, Beverly Joubert, Gurcharan Roopra, Thomas Mangelsen, Lucas Bustamante, Suzi Eszterhas, Paul Hilton, Cristina Mittermeier, Gael R. Vande weghe, Daisy Gilardini, Steve Winter, Qiang Zhang, Art Wolfe, Shannon Wild, Will Burrard-Lucas, Clement Kiragu, David Lloyd, Sergey Gorshkov, Jonathan and Angela Scott, Thomas Vijayan, Tony Wu, and many more.
Project founder Graeme Green says although the New Big 5 project did a great job at highlighting endangered species and threats facing animals around the world, it was always his hope to produce a book.
"Looking at the photos in this book is a powerful reminder of the incredible beauty and diversity of the natural world, and what we stand to lose if we don't take urgent action to protect wildlife and the planet," he says.
Berndt Weissenbacher , African Elephant, Kruger National Park, South Africa. IUCN status: Endangered. “I call this photo The Kiss. It’s a baby African elephant greeting her older sister in Kruger National Park, South Africa. It’s always a privilege to photograph African elephants. Although their shape and rather monotone grey colour might not seem photogenic, the great intelligence and exceptional social organisation and communal interactions witnessed in an elephant herd make for inspiring images, if they are treated with consideration and respect."Marcus Westberg, African lion, Tswalu Kalahari Reserve, South Africa. IUCN status: Vulnerable. “At over 120,000 hectares, Tswalu Kalahari Reserve is South Africa’s largest private protected area. Laying on my stomach on the floor of a photographic vehicle, this rough-and-tumble image captured one moment in a wonderful fifteen minute session of sneak attacks, tugs-of-war and wrestling at a waterhole, while the youngsters’ mother rested with the other adults in the shade of a nearby tree."Thomas Vijayan (Canada) , Bengal tiger, Bandhavgarh National Park, India. IUCN status: Endangered. “The tiger is one of my most favourite animals to photograph. I travel all the way from Canada to Indian forests to capture their majestic beauty. Ranthambhore is another national park in India which I often visit, which is filled with majestic tigers. But this picture was taken in Bandhavgarh. Local people and officials in India are trying to protect the tigers in whatever way they can and the tiger population is now increasing in a large scale."Shane Gross, Cuban Crocodile. Ciénaga de Zapata National Park, Cuba. IUCN status: Critically Endangered “It is estimated there are only 2400 mature individual Cuban crocodiles (Crocodylus rhombifer) left on Earth. This tiny population found only in Cuba faces many threats, but the largest one stems from interbreeding with American crocodiles whose numbers and range is far larger than that of the Cuban croc. As the sea rises due to climate change the range of American crocs (who prefer sea water) expands, and overlaps with the shrinking Cuban croc's territory (which is typically more brackish, swampy water). I had already photographed the American crocodile in Cuban waters and that's how I first heard about the plight of the Cuban croc. I went back the next year specifically to photograph an individual Cuban crocodile who was hanging out in a cenote in Zapata National Park."Qiang Zhang, Golden snub-nosed monkey, Foping National Nature Reserve, China. IUCN status: Endangered. “The golden snub-nosed monkey is not only a unique and rare animal, but also a national first-class protected animal in China. In the Qinling Mountains in Shaanxi province, golden monkeys live in low altitude areas, around 2000 metres in winter and early spring. Their living environment is away from people, so it is difficult to photograph them."Nili Gudhka, Cheetah. Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya. IUCN status: Vulnerable. “On a cold winter morning in Kenya’s famous Maasai Mara National Reserve, we came across a cheetah mother with two tiny cubs. They were just waking up from a good night’s sleep and eagerly waiting for some warm sunshine. As the sun came up, the cubs became very playful. One of them decided to climb onto a dead tree log. Cheetahs are considered Vulnerable by the IUCN, and the survival rate of cubs is just about 5 per cent. Sadly, just two days later, one of the cheetah cubs was killed by hyenas in the night, and a few weeks after, the second cub was killed by a male lion."Marsel van Oosten, African elephant, Lower Zambezi National Park, Zambia. IUCN status, Endangered. “I shot this image in Lower Zambezi National Park, Zambia. It’s the direct result of my favourite creative tool: previsualization. My approach is often the opposite of what most wildlife photographers do - instead of going where the animals are, I go to where I want the animals to be. The landscape and the setting is more important to me than the species. In this case, I spotted this beautiful constellation of tree trunks and immediately saw the potential for a great animalscape. I decided to get into the perfect position and simply wait for an animal to walk into the natural frame. Luckily, the area has plenty of elephants, so eventually an elephant walked into my frame and I couldn’t have been happier."Marco Gaiotti, Rüppell’s Vulture, Simien Mountains National Park, Ethiopia. IUCN status: Critically Endangered. “This image is of a Rüppell’s vulture in flight in front of the Jinbar Waterfall in the Simien Mountains, Ethiopia. The Rüppell's vulture is a large bird of prey, listed as Critically Endangered according to IUCN. The current population of 22,000 is decreasing mainly due to loss of habitat. Rüppell's vultures are also considered to be the highest-flying bird, with confirmed evidence of a flight at an altitude of 11,300 m (37,000 ft) above sea level."Magnus Lundgren, Chilean Devil Ray, The Azores, Portugal. IUCN status: Endangered. “A large group of Chilean devil rays (Mobula tarapacana), all with a wingspan of 3 to 4 meters, socialize over Azore’s Princess Alice seamount in the late summer. Here they pass the photographer hanging on-line in the blue over the underwater mountain. Chilean devil rays are considered one of the deepest divers in the ocean. A recent study in the Azores found that Chilean devil rays dive to extreme depths, reaching at least 1,800 metres."Lucas Bustamante, Spotted torrent frog, Santa Barbara Park, Ecuador. IUCN status: Critically Endangered. “This is the spotted torrent frog, one of the most beautiful frogs on Earth. These Andean frogs live on very restricted waterfalls around the Andean foothills. They measure around 10 centimetres, and are characterized by their striking colours and patterns, including the tips of their fingers, where each species has its own colour of ‘nail polish’."Jenny Wong (Canada), Polar bear, Baffin Island, Nunavut, Canada. IUCN status: Vulnerable. “I photographed this polar bear wandering along the floe edge where sea ice meets open water in the high Canadian Arctic. We had tracked this bear for several days, and after two weeks it was my last day out on the ice. We watched his brazen personality and curiosity as he wandered close to snowmobiles and camps. I popped my drone off to get a landscape photo of him. I think this image shows that you don’t need to get really close to animals to get an impactful image."Jen Guyton, Cape Pangolin, Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique. IUCN status: Vulnerable. “We found this wild ground pangolin, also known as the Cape pangolin, during a biodiversity survey in Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique. She was out foraging for termites and I took a series of photos of her. Pangolins are the only mammals that have large scales made of keratin, which are actually just modified hairs. These animals are coveted in Asia for their meat and scales, which are wrongly thought to have medicinal properties."Hao Jiang , Polar bear, Wapusk National Park, Manitoba, Canada. IUCN status: Vulnerable. “I saw this polar bear family pause on its trek to the sea ice to hunt seals on a frozen day in the Arctic. At this moment, these adorable twin cubs turned their first adventure into playtime by using their patient mum as a playground. They were only around three months old and had just emerged from their maternity den several days earlier. Since the polar bear cubs are young and helpless in the harsh Arctic, they rely on their mother for everything they need to survive."Graeme Green, Mountain gorilla, Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda IUCN status: Endangered. “This is Marambo, one of the largest silverbacks in Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park, taken on the forested slopes of Sabyinyo volcano. The head of the Mahoza family, he’s a gentle giant, weighing around 200 kilograms. He spends most of his time as a quiet, powerful presence watching over adult females, juveniles and babies in his group. Mountain gorillas are challenging to photograph, as they move quickly in and out of undergrowth, the light and positioning constantly changing, and you can’t get too close, for their sake and yours. I wanted to take up-close portraits that give a sense of what it’s like to stand eye-to-eye with the world’s largest primate and one of nature’s wonders."Gabby Salazar, Florida Manatees. Florida, United States. IUCN status: Vulnerable. “This is a photo of two Florida manatees hanging out near a freshwater spring in Florida, USA. The average water temperature in the springs is around 72 degrees Fahrenheit all year round, which makes the springs a warm refuge for manatees during the cold winter months."Chris Fallows, Great White Shark, Location: Stewart Island, New Zealand. IUCN status: Vulnerable. “Whilst exploring the seabed in a one-man mobile cage this magnificent 11ft great white investigated me for over 20 minutes where I had the incredible privilege to photograph it as it swam across the golden sea floor."Antonio Liebana, Iberian Lynx , Peñalajo, Ciudad Real, Spain. IUCN status: Endangered. “Iberian lynx are one of the world’s most endangered cats, due to habitat loss, decreasing food sources, car accidents, and illegal hunting. But thanks to conservation efforts, the species is recovering and can be found in small areas of Portugal and Spain. I captured this image while leading a conservation project based around photography in Peñalajo, Castilla La Mancha, Spain."Aimee Jan , Green Sea Turtle, Ningaloo Marine Park, Australia. IUCN status: Endangered. “This is a solo green sea turtle on the Ningaloo Reef in Western Australia. While out snorkelling on the back of the reef, my friend called out that she had found a large school of glass fish under a ledge at about ten metres down. When I dived down, the wall of glass fish opened up to reveal a perfectly framed turtle, which seemed to be having a rest before turning and looking directly at me. I had time to take four photos before I needed to come up for air. When looking back at them, I knew it was one of the best moments I had ever captured."
The New Big 5: A Global Photography Project For Endangered Wildlife by Graeme Green is out now (Earth Aware Editions; $75.00; £62), available at Insight Editions.com, Amazon, and Bookshop, with a foreword by Paula Kahumbu and an afterword by Jane Goodall.
