# What is the best safari animal?

> The Big Five and everything else worth stopping the vehicle for. Note that there is no tiger on this list, because there are no tigers in Africa.

*By YPB Team · Published August 6, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/what-is-the-best-safari-animal*

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## Current results (0 votes)

1. **Lion**
   The headline sighting of any African safari — and there is no tiger to compete with here.
2. **African Elephant**
   The largest land animal, and the one that stops every vehicle.
3. **Leopard**
   The hardest of the Big Five to actually see.
4. **Black Rhino**
   Rare, short-tempered and unforgettable.
5. **Cape Buffalo**
   The fifth of the Big Five, and the most underestimated.
6. **Giraffe**
   Visible from further away than anything else on the plain.
7. **Cheetah**
   The sighting everyone hopes turns into a chase.
8. **Zebra**
   The animal that makes a photograph look like a safari.
9. **Hippopotamus**
   Best watched from a distance, in water.
10. **Wildebeest**
   Two million of them crossing a river is the continent's great spectacle.
11. **African Wild Dog**
   Endangered, and the most efficient hunter on the plain.
12. **Spotted Hyena**
   Smarter and more successful than its reputation allows.
13. **Ostrich**
   The largest bird alive, and faster than it looks.
14. **Baboon**
   The troop you are told to keep the car windows shut for.

Tags: nature, travel, africa, animals