Today is Wold Lion Day – a day to celebrate one of my favorite cats!
#LetLionsLive #worldlionday
WorldLionDay 2017
Zulu Kids
Today I came across this picture I took at one of the local schools when I visited there with Thanda Safari guests.
These youngsters, as most Zulu children and also most adults, love to pose for a camera!
I am working on a series of blogs about the Zulu community, Zulu culture and Zulu people. Stay tuned …
Enjoy your week!
The Montagues and Capulets
As in Romeo and Juliet this Lioness has no way to get united with her Romeo. As one can see in the video the young female is in esterous and is keen to mate, but the fences between two game reserve prevent the males from getting to here (the roars in the background are from the males on the neighboring reserve).
The lady is obviously not interested in the perfectly good dominant male on her side of the reserve. The grass seems always greener on the other side of the fence.
Enjoy the video and your week!
Video by Christian Sperka, Resident Wildlife Photographer Thanda Safari
Hold them by the tail!
Posted today on Thanda Safari’s blog …
Bheki Ngubane, one of Thanda Safari’s experienced trackers, often shows our guests a scorpion during the morning drink stop. As everyone enjoy their coffee, tea or hot chocolate Bheki has a look around the area for a scorpion resting under a stone. He will pick it up – carefully – by the tail and bring it over for everyone to have look. Bheki and I often let these small predators sit and walk on our hands. When the ‘show and tell’ is finished Bheki replaces the eight-legged creature back in its home, under the stone!
PS: Please do not try this at home! Some scorpions are very venomous and one needs to know with which ones one can perform this show safely 🙂
Text and Pictures by Christian Sperka – Resident Wildlife Photographer – Thanda Safari
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Chacma Baboons (SG19)
Fun to watch, no fun to have around the house: Chacma Baboons!
I just uploaded 45 of my Chacma Baboon images – taken between 2005 and 2017 – to www.sperka.biz/sg19.
More species gallery available online at http://www.sperka.biz/sg.
The galleries for Aardvark, Aardwolf and Blesbok are also new.
Asiatic Lion (SG16)
I have a lot of images of African Lions, but only a few of the very rare Asiatic Lion (from the Zurich Zoo).
I just uploaded 17 of them – taken between 2009 and 2016 to www.sperka.biz/sg16.
More species gallery available online at http://www.sperka.biz/sg.
May and June
In the last weeks I did not have a lot of time to blog. But over the last few days I worked on a lot of images (sorting/filing/deleting/editing a few thousand) and I thought you might like to see some of my favorite shots from May and June 2017 which I took at Thanda Safari.
The Big Five, Cheetah, Hyena and more …
Enjoy them!
Pictures information for the photographers among you:
- 10 June – Small Elephant – Canon 1D Mark IV with 28-300L at 300mm
- 11 May – Large Elephant – Canon 1D Mark IV with 28-300L at 85mm (DoF-PP)
- 30 May – Small Lion – Canon 1D Mark IV with 28-300L at 85mm
- 28 May – Me (Mirror) and Hyena – iPhone 7 Plus
- 9 June – Vulture – Canon 1D Mark IV with 28-300L at 270mm
- 30 May – Pride of Lions – Canon 1D Mark IV with 28-300L at 105mm
- 2 June – Cheetah – Canon 1D Mark IV with 28-300L at 250mm (DoF-PP)
- 5 June – Bark Spider – iPhone 7 Plus
- 28 May – Hyena on Kill – Canon 1D Mark IV with 28-300L at 90mm (DoF-PP)
- 28 May – Giraffes fighting – Canon 1D Mark IV with 28-300L at 235mm
- 12 May – Leopard with Nyala kill – Canon 1D Mark IV with 28-300L at 300mm
- 20 May – White Rhino with new-born calf – Canon 1D Mark IV with 28-300L at 105mm
- 8 June – Cape Buffalo bull – iPhone 7 Plus (2x magnification)
- 28 May Me with my Canon 1D Mark IV and the Canon 28-300L lens sitting in the Green Mamba 1 – iPhone 7 Plus
Note: DoF-PP = depth of field change in post processing
Thanks!
… and one of my favorite Lion images as a birthday special 🙂 – Thanks for all the kind messages!
Five Years in the Wild
Today, five years ago, I arrived at Thanda, my home in the African bush. What an amazing five years, meeting new friends and people from all over the world, taking thousands of wildlife images and visiting many new places.
I am looking forward to many more years living and working at this amazing place 😊
The GREEN MAMBA has arrived!
THE GREEN MAMBA has arrived at Thanda House, but it is not a snake! It is the name of my new Land Rover Defender, which has been converted by a good friend of mine to a “Luxury & Photography Game Viewing Vehicle” – We named it Green Mamba 1 🙂 – more to follow soon …
The Green Mamba getting a ride from Durban to Thanda …
The Green Mamba’s maiden voyage to the Thanda Safari Lodge (with me and Marian in the vehicle and Garry on the tracker seat) …
Garry driving the Mamba of the trailer …
Christian Sperka Photography | Custom Luxury Tours 