CHRISTIAN SPERKA PHOTOGRAPHY – Page 71 – Christian Sperka Photography

2021-03-29

Let’s talk about big cats V

The five members of the genus Panthera are also called the ‘big cats’. Cat species number 5: The *Snow Leopard* (p.Uni a).

They show various adaptations for living in a cold, mountainous environment. Its small ears help to minimize heat loss. Its broad paws well distribute the body weight for walking on snow, and have fur on their undersides to increase the grip on steep and unstable surfaces. Its long and flexible tail helps to maintain balance in the rocky terrain. The tail is also very thick due to fat storage, and is covered in a thick layer of fur, which allows the cat to use it like a blanket to protect its face when asleep.

This picture I took at the Zurich Zoo, Switzerland.

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2021-03-26

Let’s talk about big cats III

The five members of the genus Panthera are also called the ‘big cats’. Cat species number 3: The Jaguar (p.onca).

It is the only large cat native to the Americas. While the Jaguar closely resembles the Leopard, it is generally more robust, with stockier limbs and a squarer head.

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2021-03-25

Let’s talk about big cats II

The five members of the genus Panthera are also called the ‘big cats’.

This is one of my favorite portraits of large cat species number 2, the Lion (p.leo). There are only two subspecies, African and Asiatic Lions and they are the only gregarious cat species living in family groups.

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2021-03-24

Let’s talk about big cats …

The five members of the genus Panthera are also called the ‘big cats’. The next few posts will feature my favorite portraits of each species.

Today I start with the largest living cats on earth: Tigers (P.tigris). Six subspecies (Bengal- , Sumatran-, Amur-, Indio-chinese-, Bengal-, South China- Tigers) still exist in the wild and all of them occur ‘naturally’ only in Asia even if some of these magnificent creatures have also been released in some game reserves in South Africa.

I took the portrait of this Bengal Tiger in 2012 at the Nashville Zoo, Tennessee, USA.

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2021-03-22

RELAXED

I love sitting with relaxed Leopards and observe these beautiful creatures observing me 😊

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2021-03-21

THE MOON AND THE OWL

It looks like the picture on the right has been photoshopped, but it has not. I took these pictures of a Spotted Eagle Owl under the bright moon yesterday evening. Thanks to two of the birding weekend guests at Pakamisa for holding the spotlights to illuminate the Owl.

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2021-03-202021-03-20

RARE AND PRICKLY

On the way back from a ‘Pakamisa Birding Weekend Owl spotting night drive’ we encountered this African brush-tailed Porcupine and its mate. It was quite relaxed and posed for a few pictures in the spotlight which is unusual for these prickly rodents. Its partner disappeared very quickly into the bush 😊

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2021-03-18

AFTERNOON SUN

It is a pure pleasure to watch a herd of Elephants in the late afternoon sun. The Thanda Safari guests enjoyed this encounter with the some of our gentle giants very much.

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2021-03-16

MOON AND GIRAFFE

On the way home from yesterday evening’s game drive I took this image of a Giraffe silhouette in front of the moon. Twilight mood on Thanda!

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2021-03-15

LITTLE MISCHIEF

For the way this little Baboon boy behaved as I watched his troop for a long time he could definitely be called ‘Little Mischief’.

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