Iconic Asian animals in contention for ‘New Big 5’ of wildlife photography – successor to colonial trophy hunters’ African ‘big five’

India’s Bengal tiger and the orangutan of Southeast Asia are in the frame for a ‘New Big 5’ list of the most valuable wild animals for wildlife photography

Its British instigator says ‘Shooting with a camera, not a gun is a far better way to celebrate wildlife than the old big five of hunting’

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A Bengal tiger in the woods in Bandhavgarh National Park, India. The species is one of the contenders for a “New Big 5” list of iconic animals. Photo: Thomas Vijayan

Published: 4:30am, 30 Apr 2020Updated: 6:18am, 30 Apr 2020

Nature is in crisis, with more than a million species at risk of extinction. The next decade will be critical in determining whether some animals, such as the African elephant, cheetah, and lion, survive in the wild.

The “New Big 5” project (www.newbig5.com) is an attempt to draw attention to the plight of wild creatures by asking the public to vote on which ones should be placed on a “bucket list” of animals to shoot … with a camera.

Two Asian species – the orangutan, native to Southeast Asia, and the Bengal tiger of India – are among the contenders.

The project is the brainchild of British wildlife photographer and journalist Graeme Green.

A Bornean orangutan in Gunung Palung National Park, Indonesia, shot by a New Big 5 supporter. Photo: Tim Laman

The “big five” was a term coined by big-game hunters in colonial times and refers to the lion, the leopard, the rhinoceros, the elephant and the Cape buffalo. The list represents the five toughest animals in Africa to shoot and kill while on foot.

“The ‘New Big 5’ is a celebration of wildlife photography and the incredible animals that exist all around the planet,” says Green. “Shooting with a camera, not a gun is a far better way to celebrate wildlife than the old big five of hunting, and it’s a way to create something powerful and lasting.”