The small male Elephant in the picture got a bit excited when he joined in a mud bath with his elders. He knew all the moves to intimate us and the other bulls, he just did not have the size yet :-).
Brothers!
These two Cheetah brothers have a strong bond since many years. Unlike female Cheetah, who are always solitary, Cheetah males often form coalitions. Being able to groom one another is one of the advantages of such a relationship.
Let’s play, Bro!
This young juvenile Lioness is playing rough with her brother. I “found” this picture when I was organizing my pictures which I took before the rains. I like the action.
We have two Lion prides on Thanda. One in the North of the reserve and one in the South.
Have a good week!
Dogs and Neighbors!
Our African Wild Dogs decided recently to slip through the fence of the reserve and take a “vacation” on a neighboring farm. The owner is not very happy about his visitors – not surprising as the six adult and nine puppy dogs eat a lot of meat!
We are currently capturing the dogs and bringing them back to Thanda. They will be kept in a boma until the fence has been fixed.
The first picture shows the dogs in the twilight on the neighbor’s land.
The second picture is of one of the cubs. It squeezed through the boma fence and took a little day trip across the savanna – but never going far from the boma with the adults in it.
And then the sky opened!
I do not know that my Land Rover Driving course experience would come in useful so soon. Today the sky opened up during game drive and within minutes hard rain converted some of our roads into streams. We were in an area with predominately clay based soils far away from the lodge. With a lot of momentum and the superb bad-road-condition-capabilities of the Land Rover Defender I got us home safely. We were all wet to the skin 🙂 The four children on the vehicle thought that the drive was a great adventure.
The weather forecast for tomorrow is for 100% rain. Another hectic driving day coming up!
I got no pictures from the drive (I was busy negotiating soapy roads!), so I thought you would enjoy the picture of these two Eagles I took earlier this morning. The first is of a Tawny Eagle and the second is a Wahlberg’s Eagle.
For a while …
This will be my last post from Thanda for a while. I will miss my African home.
If I have internet connection I will blog during my trip (see also blog message from 20 August https://christiansperka.wordpress.com/2012/08/20/rifles-trails-landis-and-snakes/)
Today’s picture is of a Tawny Eagle on the go!
Crossing fast!
I usually do not post more than once a day, but I had such a great game drive tonight, that I wanted to share one of my favorite pictures with you.
The drive started with two male Cheetahs greeting us on the savanna, then two Elephant bulls made their appearance and had a good meal on some acacias. And while we were watching them the breeding herd crossed the savanna very quickly (Elephants with young ones do not like to be in the open). We then viewed a Lioness sleeping while Wildebeest were feeding near by. And on the way home we viewed a herd of Buffalo resting near a waterhole.
What an afternoon!
Cheetah Calling!
Yesterday I followed our two male Cheetah when one of them picked up the scent of a female.
Below is a link to a short video with him calling for the Cheetah Lady 🙂
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtG9Xhqzcf8
Enjoy the weekend.
Silent Night!
What a night!
After I finished my evening game drive and after a quick meal at Intebane camp I was ready to go home. It was a dark, warm night with many stars overhead.
Just when I left the camp I heard a Lion’s roar nearby. Just a few hundred meters (yards 🙂 up the road a large male Lion walked towards me in the dark. Once he appeared in my headlights I switched them off, stopped the engine and watched him passing my vehicle just within a few meters (using my red-filtered spotlight).
I turned my car around and started following him. He made his way around the camp and moved to a dried-up waterhole in the valley below. On his way he stopped a few times to listen to the voices from the camp and to scent-mark along the road. He finally settled down in the middle of the waterhole. I switched off my car and my lights and I did let me eyes get used to the dark.
I stay with him for a while – looking at the stars in total silence – just a few meters away from one of the most magnificent creatures on earth.
That is why I love Africa!
Massive, Flight and Almost!
On today’s game drive we had an encounter with the massive bulk of seven White Rhinos …
… and some Zebras took flight when we approached a waterhole.
At the end of the day two male Cheetah almost caught an Impala.
We also saw an Elephant bull and a group of Wildebeest at the waterhole.
Not a bad Monday.
Christian Sperka Photography | Custom Luxury Tours 