CHRISTIAN SPERKA PHOTOGRAPHY – Page 103 – Christian Sperka Photography

2020-05-19

LOCK DOWN PHOTOGRAPHIC SAFARI NO.50

Cheetah Care!

One of Thanda Safari’s male Cheetah injured his leg a few weeks ago. Since then he and his coalition partner are in a boma (enclosed area with full room service!) to allow the leg to heal. On the weekend the Thanda wildlife team and the attending veterinarian Dr.Trevor Viljoen with his team took additional X-rays and discussed continued treatment. The uninjured Cheetah was watching the proceedings with interest and with a few snarls.

When these two males arrived at Thanda in June 2018, the wildlife team kept them together in a boma for quite a while where they bonded successfully into a coalition. They were then released onto the reserve and have stayed together since then. Individuals in such Cheetah coalitions have a much greater chance of surviving the pressures of other large predators.

Have a good evening and stay safe!

#Christiansperkaphotography @christiansperkaphotography #thandasafari @thandasafari

2020-05-19

STAY-AT-HOME TUESDAY

There are the Big Five and then the Small Five. Leopard Tortoises are my favorite of the Small Five. Can you name the other four?

🐆 🐢 😊 …

#Christiansperkaphotography @christiansperkaphotography #thandasafari @thandasafari

2020-05-18

LOCK DOWN PHOTOGRAPHIC SAFARI XXXXIX

We had a short and very quiet drive this afternoon. The evening sky after the sun had set was most beautiful and on my way home I passed Giraffes posing in front of the darkening sky.

When the evenings get chilly and the skies turn such deep orange then it is clear that winter is coming!

Have a good night and stay safe!

#Christiansperkaphotography @christiansperkaphotography #thandasafari @thandasafari

2020-05-18

STAY-AT-HOME MONDAY

Have you ever seen a Zebra photobombing?! 😊

Have a good week, stay safe!

#Christiansperkaphotography @christiansperkaphotography #thandasafari @thandasafari

2020-05-172020-05-17

LOCK DOWN PHOTOGRAPHIC SAFARI XXXXVIII

Today we had an incredible lock down safari. There were animals everywhere.

We saw White Rhino, Southern Giraffe, Greater Kudu, Nyala, Impala, Blue Wildebeest, Burchell’s Zebra, Warthog, Glossy Starling, Grey Heron, Woolly-necked Stork, Wattled Lapwing, Crowned Lapwing, Terrapin, Fork-tailed Drongo, Red-billed Oxpeckers and Egyptian Goose.

But the absolut highlight, after the sun had already set, were two Black Rhinos getting curious and strolling towards our vehicle. They came all the way up to about five meters before they moved off.

What an evening! Enjoy this video footage of the Rhinos which I took with a very long lens. Listen for the snort!

Have a good evening and stay safe!

Wildlife4Kids http://www.wildlife4kids.com

Thanda Tales http://www.thandatales.co.za

My Online Gallery http://www.sperka.biz

My YouTube Channel http://www.youtube.com/christiansperkaphotography

#Christiansperkaphotography @christiansperkaphotography #thandasafari @thandasafari

2020-05-17

The ANTELOPES of Thanda

On safari we talk a lot about the big five and most of the pictures we post are about them. The antelopes are often overlooked in photography even if one sees them far more often than the Big Five.

Over the last few days I have introduced the five antelope species, which I am seeing most on my game drives: Impala, Wildebeest, Nyala, Kudu and Waterbuck.

In this collage I have included the other seven species living on Thanda. Some of them are not seen so often, but they are around.

1 Greater Kudu *

2 Waterbuck *

3 Blue Wildebeest *

4 Nyala *

5 Common Reedbuck

6 Impala *

7 Southern Bushbuck

8 Mountain Reedbuck

9 Common Duiker

10 Natal Red Duiker

11 Steenbok

12 Suni

> Listed in order of weight/size

* = Commonly seen on Thanda

2020-05-16

ANTELOPES!

Today: Blue Wildebeest or Striped Gnu

Sometimes people forget that Wildbeest are antelopes. With their funny looks – they are one of the Ugly Five – they appear a bit like lean and upset cows 😊.

Their social interactions are rather unusual for antelopes. The males are territorial and the females are nomadic. This means that if the ladies like the local place holder they will stay with him for a while. And if not they will move on to the next contender’s area.

That is the reason why a friend of mine calls single Wildebeest bulls the losers. When ladies approach a male’s territory then he will move to a high point in his area and start displaying for them. It can look rather odd. That is the reason why the Zulu word for Wildebeest is iNkonkoni, which also means crazy.

Have a good day and stay safe!

Wildlife4Kids

http://www.wildlife4kids.com

Thanda Tales

http://www.thandatales.co.za

My Online Gallery

http://www.sperka.biz

My YouTube Channel

http://www.youtube.com/christiansperkaphotography

#Christiansperkaphotography @christiansperkaphotography #thandasafari @thandasafari

2020-05-15

LOCK DOWN PHOTOGRAPHIC SAFARIS FOR 50 DAYS!

Today is day 50 of the South African COVID-19 crisis national lock down.

In over 100 posts I have shared pictures, videos and stories during that time. Thanks for following me on my blog, on Facebook, on Instagram, on Twitter, on LinkedIn or via my WhatsApp distribution. And thanks for all the positive replies and comments. Feel free to share the posts with anyone who might enjoy them.

It was a lot of fun to do this and it kept me quite busy while being locked down on Thanda Safari.

… and I will continue to post as long as this crisis continues …

Enjoy your weekend and stay safe!

PS: I have created a special blog site for children (and the young at heart) where I regularly post wildlife images and wildlife Q&A. Check it out and please share it with others if you like it – http://www.wildlife4kids.com or on Instagram at www.instagram.com/wildlife4kids

PPS: This collage was made up from ‘lock down post thumbnails’ 😊 – All posts are available for review on my blog site – http://www.sperka.info

2020-05-15

ANTELOPES!

Today: Waterbuck

Of all large antelopes at Thanda Waterbucks are the shyest. They are specialized to live in wet environments like marshes and they secret a greasy, smelly substance into their pelt to repel water. It smells so bad that even Oxpeckers will never sit on Waterbucks! The ointment also helps with their hooves. Unlike other hoofed animals they do not get foot rot when staying on very wet ground for a long time. Only the males have beautiful straight horns.

Have a good weekend and and stay safe!