Graeme Green

As the New Big 5 book goes on sale, the founder of this global conservation project tells Niall Hampton how it came about

- Graeme Green

Launched in April 2020, The New Big 5 Project has the backing of more than 300 photographers, conservationists and wildlife charities, including Jane Goodall, Moby, Joanna Lumley, Chris Packham, Ami Vitale, Nick Brandt, Brent Stirton, Save The Elephants, Ewaso Lions, Wildlife Direct, Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, Save Pangolins, Polar Bears International, Snow Leopard Trust and Greenpeace.

Adapting the old hunting term for the five most prized and dangerous animals for trophy hunters in Africa to shoot and kill, the New Big 5 focuses on shooting wildlife with cameras instead. Following a one-year global poll on its website, the five animals chosen for the New Big 5 of Wildlife Photography were the elephant, tiger, gorilla, polar bear and lion.

As the New Big 5 book goes on sale, we sat down with photographer and project founder Graeme Green to discover more about how the project came about and what he hopes to achieve with the book.

Why did you start the project and how long did it take you to get it off the ground?

I first had the idea more than a decade ago. I was on assignment in Botswana and heard the word ‘shooting’, for taking pictures, which sparked something. I spent a lot of time thinking about how outdated trophy hunting is, how it’s something that should be consigned to the past, and how wildlife photography is much more meaningful to people around the world these days.

The original ‘Big 5’ is an old term used by colonial-era hunters in Africa for the most prized and dangerous animals to shoot and kill – elephant, rhino, leopard, Cape buffalo and lion. I thought it would be cool for a Big 5 of wildlife photography, rather than hunting, to exist – shooting with a camera, not a gun.