Three days ago I asked if you can name the Small Five. So here are the answers: Antlion, Leopard Tortoise, Elephant Shrew, Red-billed Buffalo Weaver, and Rhino Beatle.
And I got one more question: who are the Ugly Five 😊? (… and no, they do not include me!)
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I usually get up around 4:30am but today Lion roars coming from directly in front of my room woke me up half an hour early. I quickly got ready and went out with the Green Mamba (my safari vehicle) to find the sources of the sounds. After a few minutes I caught up with our two dominant males who were in a roaring match with the neighbor’s cats.
For the next four hours I kept trailing them on their morning territorial walk. I will put together video footage and pictures from this magical morning and post it soon. For today I have combined one of my favorite pictures taken around 5:15am under a starry sky while they performed a roaring duet next to my car.
I recommend you close your eyes for half a minute and enjoy the amazing sound!
Stay safe.
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Sorry, today’s picture is a bit late: Lions having a nigh time drink!
Stay safe.
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Cheetah Care!
One of Thanda Safari’s male Cheetah injured his leg a few weeks ago. Since then he and his coalition partner are in a boma (enclosed area with full room service!) to allow the leg to heal. On the weekend the Thanda wildlife team and the attending veterinarian Dr.Trevor Viljoen with his team took additional X-rays and discussed continued treatment. The uninjured Cheetah was watching the proceedings with interest and with a few snarls.
When these two males arrived at Thanda in June 2018, the wildlife team kept them together in a boma for quite a while where they bonded successfully into a coalition. They were then released onto the reserve and have stayed together since then. Individuals in such Cheetah coalitions have a much greater chance of surviving the pressures of other large predators.
Have a good evening and stay safe!
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There are the Big Five and then the Small Five. Leopard Tortoises are my favorite of the Small Five. Can you name the other four?
🐆 🐢 😊 …
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We had a short and very quiet drive this afternoon. The evening sky after the sun had set was most beautiful and on my way home I passed Giraffes posing in front of the darkening sky.
When the evenings get chilly and the skies turn such deep orange then it is clear that winter is coming!
Have a good night and stay safe!
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Have you ever seen a Zebra photobombing?! 😊
Have a good week, stay safe!
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Today we had an incredible lock down safari. There were animals everywhere.
We saw White Rhino, Southern Giraffe, Greater Kudu, Nyala, Impala, Blue Wildebeest, Burchell’s Zebra, Warthog, Glossy Starling, Grey Heron, Woolly-necked Stork, Wattled Lapwing, Crowned Lapwing, Terrapin, Fork-tailed Drongo, Red-billed Oxpeckers and Egyptian Goose.
But the absolut highlight, after the sun had already set, were two Black Rhinos getting curious and strolling towards our vehicle. They came all the way up to about five meters before they moved off.
What an evening! Enjoy this video footage of the Rhinos which I took with a very long lens. Listen for the snort!
Have a good evening and stay safe!
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On safari we talk a lot about the big five and most of the pictures we post are about them. The antelopes are often overlooked in photography even if one sees them far more often than the Big Five.
Over the last few days I have introduced the five antelope species, which I am seeing most on my game drives: Impala, Wildebeest, Nyala, Kudu and Waterbuck.
In this collage I have included the other seven species living on Thanda. Some of them are not seen so often, but they are around.
1 Greater Kudu *
2 Waterbuck *
3 Blue Wildebeest *
4 Nyala *
5 Common Reedbuck
6 Impala *
7 Southern Bushbuck
8 Mountain Reedbuck
9 Common Duiker
10 Natal Red Duiker
11 Steenbok
12 Suni
> Listed in order of weight/size
* = Commonly seen on Thanda
Today’s lock down safari is a five minute speedy video around the savanna. Just click on the link and enjoy the ride 😊 and stay safe!
Wildlife4Kids http://www.wildlife4kids.com
Thanda Tales http://www.thandatales.co.za
My Online Gallery http://www.sperka.biz
My YouTube Channel http://www.youtube.com/christiansperkaphotography
#Christiansperkaphotography @christiansperkaphotography #thandasafari @thandasafari
Christian Sperka Photography | Custom Luxury Tours 