MARCH 7, 2023. KATE MOTHES
Qiang Zhang, Golden Snub-nosed Monkey. Foping National Nature Reserve, China. Status: Endangered. All images © the photographers, from ‘The New Big 5’ by Graeme Green, published by Earth Aware Editions
In his book The New Big 5, photographer Graeme Green wants to flip the narrative: “Shooting with a camera, not a gun.”
In the Victorian era, big game hunting saw a meteoric rise in popularity, coinciding with Britain’s colonization of numerous regions in the so-called “Scramble for Africa” and the advent of more accurate firearms that galvanized a fashion for amassing “exotic” trophies. Sometimes intended for museums, specimens were often bound for private collections, and creatures that roamed the vast African continent were considered particularly attractive prizes.
Known as the Big Five, the lion, leopard, black rhinoceros, African bush elephant, and African buffalo were considered the most difficult species to hunt on foot. Today, many of these animals are vulnerable and endangered and must be protected in nature reserves in order to prevent being unlawfully hunted to extinction. In his forthcoming book The New Big 5, photographer Graeme Green wants to flip the narrative: “Shooting with a camera, not a gun.”
Vicki Jauron, African Lions. Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya. Status: Vulnerable
The New Big 5 is the culmination of a three-year project celebrating the remarkable multiplicity of Earth’s inhabitants, which also aims to raise awareness of the fragility of their existence as their habitats are increasingly threatened due to the climate crisis. In April 2020, Green asked people around the world to suggest what animals they most enjoyed seeing in photographs. More than 3,000 people voted for their favorites, and the list includes species found in Asia and North America, too: elephants, tigers, gorillas, polar bears, and lions. Family life is a particular focus, emphasizing the universally tender relationships of parents rearing their babies. […]
Antonio Liebana, Iberian Lynx. Ciudad Real, Spain. Status: Endangered
Karine Aigner, African Elephant. Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Tanzania. Status: Endangered
msamba 