Author: Christian Sperka

Christian Sperka is a wildlife photographer based at Thanda Private Game Reserve, Kwazulu Natal, South Africa. Over the last 11 years, Christian has traveled the world photographing animals in wild game reserves of South Africa and Namibia, the jungles of Costa Rica, in Yellowstone National Park in the USA, as well as zoos in Europe and the United States. His work has been featured in wildlife magazines, in books and in many zoo publications. He actively supports wild cat conservation, working as a partner photographer for Panthera, the world's leading organization devoted to the conservation of all wild cat species (panthera.org). From 2009 to 2012 he has worked as the official photographer and photography teacher at Nashville Zoo at Grassmere, Tennessee, USA (nashvillezoo.org). Christian is also a qualified South African field guide. He now works as specialist photography guide on Thanda Private Game Reserve in Kwazulu Natal, South Africa (thanda.com).
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LOCK DOWN PHOTOGRAPHIC SAFARI XXXVIII

Great news!

A new young Cheetah female arrived at Thanda Safari last night from the Eastern Cape.

She was released into a boma (enclosed area) where she will stay for a while to get used to her new surroundings. We are very happy to welcome another member to the Thanda Cheetah conservation project.

#Christiansperkaphotography @christiansperkaphotography #thandasafari @thandasafari

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STAY-AT-HOME TUESDAY

One of my favorite pictures of the African Sun 😊

Stay home and stay safe.

#Christiansperkaphotography @christiansperkaphotography #thandasafari @thandasafari

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LOCK DOWN PHOTOGRAPHIC SAFARI XXXVII

This is a short video about today’s sighting of two small Lion cubs and two female Lions at Thanda Safari.

Enjoy the show 😊

#Christiansperkaphotography @christiansperkaphotography #thandasafari @thandasafari

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STAY-AT-HOME MONDAY

It is a very special sighting to see a Leopard drinking. Unlike most other large mammals Leopards get most of their required water from their prey. But they still enjoy a good drink if they can get one!

Stay home and stay safe.

#Christiansperkaphotography @christiansperkaphotography #thandasafari @thandasafari

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LOCK DOWN PHOTOGRAPHIC SAFARI XXXVI

A short night … and how find South!

Today’s lock down safari has a very special topic. The Southern night sky and how to find South with the help of the stars!

This morning I got up at 3:00 to take some pictures of the night sky over Thanda. Here are a few of the images.

On one of the pictures I drew some lines to explain how to find South.

First: Find the Southern Cross and imagine a line along the long axis of the cross.

Second: Find the two pointers (Alpha and Beta Centauri) and imagine a line perpendicular to the line between the two stars.

Third: From where those two imaginary lines meet in the sky, drop down to the horizon. This is South!

Enjoy your evening and your night sky, stay home and stay safe!

#Christiansperkaphotography @christiansperkaphotography #thandasafari @thandasafari

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STAY-AT-HOME SUNDAY

I got up at 3:00am this morning to do some night sky photography on Thanda.

And I decided to capture the sunrise in a time lapse recording at my favorite waterhole.

I hope you will enjoy the short video and I hope you will have a good Sunday.

Stay home and stay safe.

#Christiansperkaphotography @christiansperkaphotography #thandasafari @thandasafari

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LOCK DOWN PHOTOGRAPHIC SAFARI XXXIV

The Pink Tail Operation 😊

One of Thanda Safari’s White Rhinos had an injured tail (probably from a Hyena attack) which needed medical attention, so a darting operation was scheduled for today to deal with the problem.

After the Rhino had been tranquilized, Veterinarian Dr. Trevor Viljoen had to shorten the remaining tail slightly.

We all had a good laugh at the pink bandage which was used to cover the repaired tail.

After the anesthesia reversal drug was administered it took only a few minutes before the huge creature was back to grazing.

A skilled pilot is needed to keep the Rhino in an open area after it had been darted …
… really close ..,
Dr.Viljoen and Wildlife Coordinator Mariana Venter rushing from the Helicopter to the Rhino …
The team preparing the Rhino and the site for surgery ..,
The surgery begins ….
… and bandaging the wound …
Dr.Viljoen administering the reversal drug to wake up the pink-tailed Rhino 😊

Enjoy your evening, stay home and stay safe!

#Christiansperkaphotography @christiansperkaphotography #thandasafari @thandasafari

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