Whenever I look into a Buffalo bull’s eyes I see a pendulum swinging in its head:
Flight Fight Flight Flight Flight Fight Flight Fight Flight Fight Flight Fight Flight Fight ….
And if you are on foot it better stop on “Flight”. Buffalo’s are one of the few mammals that will attack without warning. So it is important to respect these formidable creatures and keep the appropriated distance 🙂
I really like this Buffalo picture I took on Thursday at the Tembe Elephant Park.
Imagine you are an Elephant Bull living at Tembe Elephant Park.
It is midday and you are due for a service 🙂 You move to the largest of the
waterholes …
… and fill up with fresh water while some human tourist watch you
drinking…
… you meet a few of your pals, some of them friendly and some of them are ready for a fight…
… you finish your drink and do a little light sparring…
… you move on to the “cool down” mud bath. Some big shots are in front of you so you have to wait your turn…
… what a great feeling to cool down in the heat of the day …
… you chase a Wildebeest around a bit – just for fun …
… and have a little dust shower…
… and now it is time you move back into the bush to continue your on-going
meal (about 350kg per day).
Today I have observed this scenario 14 times at Tembe Elephant Park. All 14 bulls adhered to the same procedure – creatures of habit!
Have a good weekend!
In 2008 I was for the first time at Tembe National Elephant Park (This picture was taken then).
Tembe is know for some of the greatest tuskers in Africa (=Elephants with very long tusks). I will be spending the next two days at this reserve and I hope I get to see some of these “teeth giants” 🙂
While I was in the Lowveld for my training course I spent a few hours at Lake Panic in the Kruger National Park.
Besides many good bird shots I took a series of pictures of mating Hippos. Because of their size/weight they mate in the water. For most of the mating time one sees only the male but in the quite lengthy process the female occasionally surfaces to get some air.
My favorite lake panic bird picture is of a Malachite Kingfisher returning from fishing. I also got images of a Brown-hooded Kingfisher, a Woodland Kingfisher and a Pied Kingfisher. A good Kingfisher day!
On the way to Lake Panic I passed the Sabi River. This Elephant bull almost disappeared in the high grass along the river bank.
I enjoyed the Sabi Sands, Kruger and Lake Panic!
… and I am back home at Thanda 🙂 …
The last few days were very hot and our walks in the morning and in the evening were very exhausting. We had a few animal encounters, but not as many as we hoped for. Even the animals thought is was to hot to be out and about.
During these hot days they spend their time in drainage lines and in thick bush. It is too dangerous to walk these areas so most of our encounters were around waterholes. Rhinos, Buffalo bulls and Elephant bulls.
Yesterday we got a special treat when we went on a short game drive in the middle of the day to observe two Leopards. The female was keen to mate and she tried to “engage” the young male, but he was not interested. So we had a lot of growling in long grass but no action 🙂
Here are two pictures of the Leopards and an image of a young Elephant bull feeding next to my tent.
Young males Leopard
Female Leopard
A young bull behind my tent
If you ever wondered what a Lion sees from a shady spot under a tree. Here is one possible answer: A group of Humans walking by :-)…….. I am sure that we walk quite often through the high grass and do not even know who spots us.
On our walks over the last two days we saw a few Cape Buffalo and an Elephant bull.
When I arrived at the camp two days ago this Bull was greeting me with a good head shake.
I seldom take pictures on my iPad but I thought I quickly show you my “home away from home” for the next two weeks.
This is the view from my tent at the African Nature Training ANT camp at the Sabi Sands Game Reserve. I am looking forward to eight days of walking in the bush 🙂
PS: … And as you can see the web connection works so I will provide some “walk blogs”.
Today’s pictures are of a Nile Crocodile and of a Hippo on Lake St.Lucia. They were both giving me a “sharp look”. I was glad that I was not in the water. These pictures were taken from a boat.
Well, this will be the last post for a little while. I will be in Pretoria for two days and then I am off to the Sabi Sands for another week of trails guiding contact sessions (with Lions, Leopards, Elephants, Buffalo and Rhinos :-)).
If I have internet connection I will keep you updated during this time. If not, you will hear from me again on 23 March!
I have added 169 new images to my “New Wildlife Images” Gallery. (The new images are at the beginning of the gallery),
Here is the link: http://www.sperka.biz/new
Have a good week!
PS: The picture above is a b&w art image of a Zebra with the sun lighting it from behind.
Mfazana hide is one of the best hides I have ever seen. Built on two levels it allows great views of one of the waterholes at iSimangaliso Wetland Park (former St.Lucia Wetlands).
I stayed for about three hours and I got images of Grey Heron, Malachite Kingfisher, Cormorant, Water Lily, Saddle-billed Stork, Egret, Reedbuck, Waterbuck, Little Grebe, African Jacana, African Fish-Eagle and White Rhino.
My favorite shot is the one of this African Jacana male and his young chick.
Christian Sperka Photography | Custom Luxury Tours 