The New Big 5 spotlights the planet’s endangered species through the lenses of some of the world’s top wildlife photographers. Here, we showcase a selection of the book’s highlights.
African elephant
Photo by Marsel van Oosten, Lower Zambezi National Park, Zambia “The elephants in this area have relatively small tusks, and many of them have no tusks at all. This is the result of what is called ‘reverse evolution’ – the survival of the weakest. Poachers target the biggest bulls with the largest tusks, so their genes are eliminated from the gene pool. The weakest bulls – those with small tusks or even no tusks at all – survive and get to procreate.”
ABOUT THE BOOK
The New Big 5: A Global Photography Project For Endangered Wildlife by Graeme Green is out now (Earth Aware Editions, £62). The book brings together more than 165 of the world’s leading photographers, conservationists and experts in a mission not only to celebrate the beauty and diversity of wild animals, but to raise awareness of the threats facing the natural world.
Great white shark
Photo by Chris Fallows, Stewart Island, New Zealand “New Zealand, Australia and the North American coastlines are the few remaining strongholds of this keystone species, which is so vital to the balance and wellbeing of marine ecosystems. In other locations, most notably South Africa, previously robust great white shark populations have been decimated.”
Spotted torrent frog
Photo by Lucas Bustamante, Santa Barbara Park, Ecuador“These frogs live on very restricted waterfalls around the Andean foothills. Because of their very specific distribution, they are vulnerable to changes in their habitats, so it is essential to preserve their ecosystem.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Wildlife photographer Graeme Green launched the New Big 5 project in 2020 to create a new ‘big five’ of photography, not hunting. After a yearlong global vote, the New Big 5 were revealed as lion, tiger, elephant, polar bear and gorilla, each of which faces severe threats to their existence. graeme-green.com; newbig5.com
African lion
Photo by Graeme Green, Mara Naboisho Conservancy, Kenya “Perhaps because lions are such powerful animals, many people think they’re doing fine. But numbers are declining – these cats occupy just eight per cent of their historic range. Lions are an apex predator. Remove them and you lose the balance between predator and prey, which can impact the entire ecosystem.”
Mountain gorilla
Photo by Daryl and Sharna Balfour, Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda“This is Guhonda, a legendary silverback, here surveying his domain. At 52 years old, Guhonda is thought to be t
