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THE MORNING POST – QUIET

Sometimes it is better to be very quiet and to make not a move. A herd of Cape Buffalo had chased a pride of Lions around and this Lioness went straight up into a tree. The Buffalo could still smell her but not see her.

The herd spent hours around the area and the Lions had to wait in the trees until the Buffalo had departed!

#Christiansperkaphotography @christiansperkaphotography

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THE EVENING POST – THE SECRET SEVEN

I am sure you have heard of the Big Five (African Lion, Leopard, African Bush Elephant, Black Rhino and Cape Buffalo) and you might have heard of the Small Five (Ant Lion, Leopard Tortoise, Elephant Shrew, Rhino Beetle and Buffalo Weaver).

This is a collage of a more unusual grouping called the Secret Seven. These mammals are very hard to find and are on the sighting wish list of most regular safari goers. I have seen six of the seven – on very rare occasions – in my 20 years of safaris. The only one I have never seen is a Pangolin 😊

PS: The Wednesday bird from this morning was a Martial Eagle

#Christiansperkaphotography @christiansperkaphotograph

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THE MORNING POST – GOLDEN HOUR

What a beautiful example for the special light during the golden hour. I took this picture yesterday evening just a few minutes before the sun was setting.

Enjoy your day!

#Christiansperkaphotography @christiansperkaphotography #thandasafari @thandasafari

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THE EVENING POST – ONE MINUTE

This is a speedy one minute Thanda Safari with a herd of Wildebeest on the way to having a drink at a waterhole.

Have a good evening 😊

#Christiansperkaphotography @christiansperkaphotography #thandasafari @thandasafari

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THE MORNING POST – SMELLY PUPPIES

It was a long time ago when I took this picture of 15 cute Wild Dog puppies. Whenever we tracked Wild Dogs in the past we could smell them before we could hear them or see them. They are cute, but very smelly 😊

#Christiansperkaphotography @christiansperkaphotography #thandasafari @thandasafari

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THE EVENING POST – RARE ONES

Here are the IDs for this mornings little quiz: Aardwolf, Bush Baby (Brown Thick-tailed Galago), Bat-eared Fox, Bushpig and African Civet. And we had sightings of Bush Babies and Bushpigs on Thanda Safari.

This picture is my favorite Bushpig picture which I took many years ago.

Have a good week!

#Christiansperkaphotography @christiansperkaphotography

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THE MORNING POST – ID?

Most of my posts are about mammals and birds regularly seen on Thanda Safari, my home and work place for the last eight years. But today’s post is about some of my rarer pictures taken over the last 20 years in Southern Africa. Can you ID them and can you tell which two of these five mammals occur on Thanda, even if they are seen very rarely ?

Let’s see who gets it right 😊

#Christiansperkaphotography @christiansperkaphotography #thandasafari @thandasafari

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THE EVENING POST – THE SMALL CARNIVORES

Most of my carnivores pictures are of Lions, Cheetahs and the occasional Leopards. Hyenas and Jackals also often featured in my posts.

But there are many more little hunters on Thanda. This is a picture of the smallest member of the order carnivoria, a Slender Mongoose, which one usually only sees sprinting across the road. This one stayed a bit for a photo shoot.

Have a good evening 😊

And in case you are interested this is a list of all 16 carnivore species on the reserve:

Order: Carnivoria

1 African Lion

2 Leopard

3 Spotted Hyena

4 Cheetah

5 Brown Hyena

6 Caracal

7 Serval

8 Honey Badger

9 Black-backet Jackal

10 Side-striped Jackal

11 White-tailed Mongoose

12 Water (Marsh) Mongoose

13 South-African Large Spotted Genet

14 Banded Mongoose

15 Striped Polecat (Zorilla)

16 Slender Mongoose

Have a good evening!

#Christiansperkaphotography @christiansperkaphotography #thandasafari @thandasafari