We had a very successful birding (bird ringing) weekend at Thanda Safari. I enjoyed taking lots of pictures and I had fun hosting our guests.
These are a few images from the event. James and Lara ringed 145 birds (45 different species).
I am already looking forward to the next birding weekend!
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Heavy breathers 😊 Thanda Safari’s male Lions (coalition) were strolling past the Green Mamba this afternoon, breathing rather heavily. The ultra-wide-angle lens of my new iPhone Pro Max captures the scene very nicely 🦁
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😊 Have a good weekend!
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I thought some of you might be interested in the upcoming wildlife and photography weekend on Thanda Safari.
I will be around all weekend to help with camera setups, answer questions and – if requested – critique pictures.
Lorraine Doyle (Wildlife Manager) and I will give short talks about the supporting role of photography in wildlife conservation.
We will also have a ‘best photo of the weekend’ competition.
And Vincent Hindson, Thanda Safari field guide and expert photographer, will join me to support our photographer-guests.
For more info or bookings please contact reservations@thanda.co.za or call +27325860149.
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A beautiful night view of one of Thanda Safari’s water holes.
With the incredible rains in this season all our dams and pans are full and currently there is water in puddles all over the reserve. Together with the lush vegetation this provides ideal conditions for all fauna to flourish.
This picture was taken last night after the sun had set with my new iPhone 12 Pro Max!
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Elephants in the soft morning light at Thanda Safari.
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… (_Felinae_ Subfamily) – I only have pictures of four of the 31 ‘small wild cat species’. Can you identify these four? Just leave a comment if you think you know all of them 🐈 This was the last of ten days of cats posts 😊
… are my favorite photographic targets in all their varieties.
This charts gives an overview over the 39 species of cats (38 in the wild) in the Felidae family and their scientific classification into two subfamilies and 14 genera.
Later today I will finish this ‘cats posts’ series with a little quiz 😊
Beside the five official members of the genus Panthera (Tiger, Lion, Jaguar, Leopard and Snow Leopard) there are five more cat species which do not quite fit into the ‘small cat definition’ as they are rather large and/or have very special features.
Today I present the last of the ‘large cat club’:
The Eurasian Lynx (Lynx.lynx) – After Pumas and Cheetahs they are the largest of the small cats and the largest cats living in the wild in Europe.
So here they are again: The members of the ’10 largest wild cat species club’: Tiger, Lion, Jaguar, Leopard, Puma, Cheetah, Snow Leopard, Eurasian Lynx, Sunda Clouded Leopard and Mainland Clouded Leopard.
I only have pictures for a few of the remaining 28 wild cat species, which I will post over the next few days.
But for tomorrow I have created an overview of the cat (Felidae) family tree, which I hope will be helpful to some of you.
That’s it about big and large cats!
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Beside the five official members of the genus Panthera (Tiger, Lion, Jaguar, Leopard and Snow Leopard) there are five more cat species which do not quite fit into the ‘small cat definition’ as they are rather large and/or have very special features. I will introduce these over the next few days. Today it is the ‘All Americas’ representative of the ‘large cat club’:
The *Puma* (Puma.concolor)
Pumas have a huge distribution range all the way from Eastern Alaska all along the west ist of the Americas to Patagonia (and in Florida). Due to this huge distribution range these elusive cats are known locally by many names (Mountain Lion, Cougar, Painter, Catamount, Puma, Florida Panther and many more). They vary very much in size. In the North and South they are quite large (up to 90kg for a male) but closer to the equator they are in average much smaller (up to 50kg for a male).
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