Thanda’s two Cheetah brothers had an exciting encounter today. When walking along Thanda’s fence line they walked into two Lionesses which gave immediate chase.
The Cheetah out-ran the Lions to the open Savanna and then were very alert for a while to make sure that the “ladies” were no longer around.
Our two Cheetah boys were lying in a recently burned area when we spotted them from the road. Driving off-road is not allowed on freshly burned ground so Bheki and I walked our guest a few meters to get a good view of those two magnificent creatures. Our guest enjoyed the experience very much. The two brothers kept us in view for a few minutes and then lost interest in the six humans nearby. What a sighting!
Thanda’s three month old Cheetah cubs were on a early morning walk down the road with their mum and the Thanda guests had a good look at them.
When the cubs are this young we do not view them “off-road” so this was a very special treat not only for the guests, but also for all trackers and guides who got to see them that morning.
When I left Thanda at sunrise our two male Cheetah walked directly towards me. In this picture the “visible” Cheetah’s breath is a sign for a cold winter’s morning in Kwazulu Natal.
I spent an enjoyable day at a hide in Mkuze Game Reserve and I will post a few of today’s images in the near future :-).
… and thanks for all the kind birthday wishes!
Thanda’s small Cheetah cubs are already eating some solid food. Their mum had hunted an Impala and they joined in the – for Cheetah typical – hasty meal. The three month old the cubs are also still suckling.
The pictures show the cubs in the road waiting for their mum to return from her hunt, mum looking for the cubs and the cubs in the high grass around the kill.
Patience for almost two hours was rewarded with these images!
This is a picture I took yesterday of the mum of our new Cheetah cubs. She was away from the cubs feeding on a kill when I was able to get this image.
Great news for Cheetah conservation. A Cheetah female on Thanda Private Game Reserve gave birth to four cubs. Yesterday we managed to get pictures of the five weeks old cubs for the first time. They played around a thicket in which their mum hides them when she goes hunting.
The collage shows a few images of the cubs and the mother. Theses pictures were taken with 910 mm lens length across a valley (hence the marginal quality :-)).
Enjoy your weekend!
Imagine you are a Cheetah male!
You have not a had a meal for a while and you and your brother are getting hungry …
… you stalk some newly arrived Impala. It is a good thing (for you not them) that they do not know the area so well yet 🙂 and …
… you got one. And after a good and hasty meal (not touching the prey’s stomach – its smell could attract some nasty company) …
… you can hardly move …
… so you decide to clean yourself up a bit and get some needed rest – A good day!
This was the first time that I saw our two male Cheetahs on a kill. They often hunt in very thick areas and only appear once they are well fed, far away from the actual kill. On this occasion they brought down a baby Zebra on the savanna. In this picture one of the brothers is keeping watch while the other one still feeds on the carcass.
Cheetahs eat incredibly fast because they often loose their kill to larger predators.
They can “stuff” themselves to the point they have difficulties moving – except when motivated by an approaching Lion :-).
The Zebra’s mother was still looking and calling for her calf when we arrived at the scene. A wound on her back showed that she had recently survived a Lion attack. And now she lost her new-born calf to the Cheetah. Let’s hope she survives her injury and that she will be able to have another calf.
Today was a great day for the Thanda Cheetah population. They were joined by a new female which was released onto the reserve. The three year old cat was born at Mountain Zebra National Park and came to Thanda via the Hoedspruit Endangered Wildlife Center.
Faye Peters and Phillip Lennon from the popular South African TV program 50/50 documented the event.
The Thanda Wildlife Team (led by Mariana Venter) with the help of specialists from WildlifeACTFund (led by Simon Morgan) worked for seven hours to convince the young lady to leave her boma (A boma is an enclosure in which animals are normally kept at full board from the time of arrival at Thanda to their release onto the reserve).
The Thanda Wildlife Team and Researchers will be monitoring the animal for the next few month to see how she is doing in her new home and I will try to get more pictures of her in her new surroundings 🙂
Enjoy this picture documentary!
1 – A portrait of the lady!
2 – Still in the boma.
3 – Simon Morgan (WildlifeACTFund) trying to spot the cat in the boma.
4 – Mariana Venter (Thanda Private Game Reserve) explains to the 50/50 team the use of bait.
5 – A small step for a Cheetah … … see you around 🙂
Christian Sperka Photography | Custom Luxury Tours 