In my eight years at Thanda Safari I had never seen a Brown Hyena. But yesterday morning we were lucky. As we drove onto the savanna this specimen stared at us for a few seconds and then started running fast towards nearby thickets.
I was not fast enough to catch the staring on camera, but I got the running 😊
Enjoy your evening.
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#Christiansperkaphotography @christiansperkaphotography
As promised last night here is a short video of the two Cheetah boys having a busy time analyzing all the scents left by other Cheetahs. They sound a bit out of breath for a good reason. Just before I was taking this video they were jogging for quite a while.
The snorting sound you hear at the end of the video in the background is not me 😊. It is the alarm call of some Zebras watching the Cheetah from a distance.
Have a good week!
#Christiansperkaphotography @christiansperkaphotography
#Thandasafari @thandasafari
After over 100 days of ‘quarantine’ in a boma our Cheetah coalition was re-released onto the reserve. One of the two males had broken his leg and after the required surgery the duo had to remain in the boma for recovery.
Both cats showed a lot of energy after their release and started inspecting their territory. Scents from other Cheetahs in the area kept them very busy until after sunset. The top picture shows them in front of the same tree which was featured with another male Cheetah in this morning’s post.
Tomorrow morning I will post a short video of the two boys in their new found freedom 😊
Have a good week!
#Christiansperkaphotography @christiansperkaphotography #thandasafari @thandasafari
Sometimes a bit of heights is needed to spot ones prey. This Thanda Safari male Cheetah was hunting when I caught him on camera moving in and out of a tree.
Have a good Sunday!
#Christiansperkaphotography @christiansperkaphotography
#Thandasafari @thandasafari
We had another enjoyable game drive this morning. Just as the sun was about to burn away the morning mist, I took this image of two Lionesses with their five cubs.
I love the mood!
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#Thandasafari @thandasafari
After three month of lockdown Thanda Safari Tracker Siboniso and I took four guests on game drive this afternoon! And what a drive it was. It started with a crash of Rhino, an Elephant drinking at sunset, a Spider catching a Grasshopper and ended with a brief sighting of a male Leopard.
We had a great time even if I had to talk to my guests through a face mask. 😷 It is great to be back on the job!
#Thandasafari @thandasafari
#Christiansperkaphotography @christiansperkaphotography
A picture from my archives: What an exciting sighting when a Black Rhino met a Lioness.
Rhinos do not like Lions. Lions are wary of Rhinos. So usually they stay away from one another but sometimes the Lions’ hunting instinct gets the better of them and they try to edge close to the Rhinos, or the two species just meet by accident. As soon as the Rhinos realize the proximity of cats they get very upset and start chasing their foe. That is usually the end of the encounter because at this stage the Lions move away. Due to the bad eyesight of all adult Rhinos the Lions sometimes get quite close.
In this particular case the Black Rhino bull appeared over the dam wall when it almost bumped into the Lioness. The large herbivore immediately went for the cat which made a hurried retreat.
The reason why Lions are interested in Rhinos is because on occasion they get to kill a young Rhino calf. And therefore Rhinos instinctively dislikes all cats and want to get rid of them!
#Christiansperkaphotography @christiansperkaphotography
Earlier this week I caught this family outing on camera. Six Egyptian Goslings were out and about for a midday walk with their parents on the Thanda Safari savanna.
Enjoy your evening!
#Thandasafari @thandasafari
#Christiansperkaphotography @christiansperkaphotography
I had not seen Lions for quite a while but last night I found a single male in the western part of the reserve. It was be quite unusual that he was by himself.
He is part of a male coalition, but I assume his brother is attending to some Lionesses in estrous and inflicted some temporary social distancing rules on his brother 😊
Have a good day.
#Thandasafari @thandasafari
#Christiansperkaphotography @christiansperkaphotography
After 97 days of lock-down Thanda Safari re-opens tomorrow (at this time only for guests from the KwaZulu Natal province as per regulations).
I created this short video to celebrate the occasion 😊 Enjoy it!
And I hope to see many of you on Thanda Safari, soon.
If you are interested in the post-lock-down-specials then please contact Thanda Reservations at +27325860149 or resmanager@thanda.co.za.
#Thandasafari @thandasafari
#Christiansperkaphotography @christiansperkaphotography
Christian Sperka Photography | Custom Luxury Tours 