africa – Page 171 – Christian Sperka Photography

2013-01-04

The Kill

If one watches animal programs on TV one usually sees the Lions running after the prey and then eating the animal. The struggle for food/life in between is rarely ever shown.

A few days ago my guests, Bheki and I watched such a struggle. The strength of the Zebra, the rush of adrenaline and the persistence and power of the Lions could be observed.

I was able to get one good images that documents this struggle (it all happened at night and we were using spotlights). Please do not click on this link if images of such scenes disturb you.

http://www.sperka.biz/thekill/h514dab36#h514dab36

2013-01-042013-01-04

Summer Sunset

Yesterday evening we spent the sunset time next to our largest waterhole watching Cape Buffalo having their evening drink stop.

A great way to end a game drive with Giraffe, Sun Spider, Cheetah, Wild Dog, Yellow-billed Kite, Leopard Tortoise, Tawny Eagle, Lions and Cape Buffalo.

2013-01-022013-01-02

I am back :-) – Happy New Year

Sorry about not posting since Christmas but my Internet connection was down until yesterday.

We were very busy at Thanda over the holidays and I had quite a lot of great sightings (pictures and stories to follow in the next few days).

I will be on my “time off” starting next Sunday. Believe it or not – next Monday I will go for my South African drivers license test (I need that one for a Public Transport Permit). After 32 years of driving a car I had to go back to driving school again 🙂

Today’s picture was taken by one of my guests from Germany after a particular interesting drive in rainy and muddy weather conditions. The mud ended up on my face and on my guests faces. We had a great time!

I wish all of you a Happy New Year 2013!

2012-12-252012-12-25

Christmas and New Year in South Africa

Quite a few people have asked me how I spend my Christmas and New Year at Thanda. The answer is simple: Working…

This is one of the busiest times of the year at a game reserve as many guests want to spend a special “Wildlife” Christmas or New Year.

But – as I enjoy being in the bush and guiding people in this beautiful Big Five reserve – working over the holidays is not a sacrifice.

Yesterday I went with two guest families to the Elephant interaction at Bayete Game Reserve. This is one of the regular excursion we do with our guests. Everyone enjoyed interacting with Rambo, Rachel and Jabulani. These three “semi-wild” Elephants which roam freely on the game reserve show up every day for their “human interaction”.

I hope all of you enjoy the festive season, wherever you are!

2012-12-212012-12-21

Leopard Week at Thanda

It is hard to believe but I had four great Leopard sightings in one week. That is more than in the six month since I started working at Thanda.

Today’s sighting was especially good. The young Leopard in the picture above stayed around a waterhole for half an hour and then joined a second Leopard in the bush nearby.

Below are pictures of all five Leopards which featured in this week’s sightings 🙂

Enjoy your holiday weekend!

2012-12-202012-12-20

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 2013

With my best wishes for the holiday season from South Africa – Christian

PS: The picture is of one of the North Pride Lion cubs at Thanda Private Game Reserve …

.. and the reason why I have not blogged since 16 December is that my internet connection was down for a few days.

2012-12-162012-12-16

One of the Five!

Well, I had planned not to publish a “Big Five” picture for ten posts. But tonight’s Leopard sighting changed my mind.

On the way back to the lodge we had a very special night encounter. This Leopard female was a few meters (yards) of the road in the thick bush. When I moved the game viewer a bit closer she had a good look at us before she disappeared into the bush. Bheki’s excellent spotlight work made this picture possible.

I really like her alert expression in the picture!

2012-12-152012-12-15

Without the Five (3) – Black on White or White on Black?

White stripes on black background or black stripes on white background?

It was previously believed that Zebras were white animals with black stripes, since some Zebras have white underbellies. Embryological evidence, however, shows that the animal’s background color is black and the white stripes and bellies are additions.

The pattern on every Zebra is unique, very much like fingerprints. And sometimes the white stripes are wider or narrower. The faint stripe in between the black and white is called a “shadow stripe” and is typical for the Burchell’s Zebra (a sub-species of the Plains Zebra).

These images are part of my “Without the Five” series:

Each image features a species, which is usually not in the safari limelight. So they will be no images of Lions, Leopard, Elephants, Rhinos, Buffalo, Cheetahs …

Enjoy the “without the Five” series

2012-12-142012-12-14

Without the Five (2) – Common Beauty!

Today’s image is a portrait of an Impala ram. Impalas are the most common antelopes on Thanda. They have a special dental arrangement on the front lower jaw similar to a tooth-comb which is used during grooming to comb the fur and remove parasites – hence their impeccable appearance 🙂

This image is part of my “Without the Five” series:
Each image will features a species, which is usually not in the safari limelight. So they will be no images of Lions, Leopard, Elephants, Rhinos, Buffalo, Cheetahs …

Enjoy the “without the Five” series

2012-12-132012-12-13

Without the Five (1) – Head Salad!

For the next ten posts I have planned a special series of pictures. Each image will feature a species, which is usually not in the safari limelight. So they will be no images of Lions, Leopard, Elephants, Rhinos, Buffalo, Cheetahs …

Today’s image is of two Nyala bulls. One of them wearing “Head Salad” 🙂

Enjoy the “Witout the Five” series