One of Thanda’s largest Elephant bulls was standing still for a few seconds – for his close-up pictures 🙂 – before he moved on down the hill. This gentle giant was trailing the breeding herd which had crossed the road in front of the vehicle on the way to a nearby waterhole. What an experience for the Thanda guests!
The last few days Thanda guests enjoyed summer temperatures, making good use of the pools at the Thanda Safari Lodge, Thanda Tented Camp and the Villa iZulu.
The Thanda Elephants did the same, enjoying a mid-day drink and bath. As always an impressive sight!
The last few days I have been working in my office. Which is not bad, but not nearly as good as being out there on game drives. Even so, staying at Thanda house has its merits, too.
This morning our two male Cheetah came for a visit and acted as gate guards for a few hours.
They also posed as models 🙂
Yesterday, a journey of Giraffes and a dazzle of Zebras was grazing in front of the gate during midday.
And the day before our Elephants had a late afternoon drinking and bathing session at the waterhole on the south side of Thanda house.
So, my time at the office got interrupted by some of my “wild friends” offering good sightings!
It is my favourite time of day. When the sun goes down and the light turns golden it is the right time to take photographs.
I was working in my office this afternoon when I heard Elephants trumpeting at the waterhole near Thanda house. I grabbed a camera and sneaked outside towards the fence. The Elephants did not detect me, so I was able to take a few shots on foot before I retreated back to the house. The Thanda guests were watching on game viewing vehicles from the other side of the dam.
This is my favourite shot of this sequence 🙂
It was a windy winter’s day with a lot of the animals hiding in the thick bush. We drove and tracked for over two hours before we found the breeding herd of Elephants. They also had decided to feed in a very dense area and we only caught occasional glimpses. When we were about to leave the sighting, to find a nice location for our drinks stop at sunset, a dozen Elephants crossed the road right in front of us. What a sighting!
It was one of those days, which needed patience for a long time and which ended with a big reward for not giving up!
The picture above shows one of the youngsters waving his trunk before it disappeared after his mum into the bush. The picture below shows the group walking past the vehicle.
Imagine you are a twelve-days old Baby Elephant at the new Kaeng Krachan Elephant Park at the Zurich Zoo …
“I have on idea what the fuss is all about? …
… I live in this cool place at the Zurich Zoo …
… and they all treat me like I am royalty or something …
… check out all these people, and just for me! …
… that trunk thing is already working 🙂 – took me a few days to figure it out …
… my mum and my aunties are looking after me very well …
… and that is my daddy in front of our house, big and beautiful, what do you think? …
… and just to let you know, it is our job at the zoo to teach all you guys about my cousins in the wild, even via smart phones 🙂 …
… so, see you at the zoo!”
A few moments in the life of a small zoo Elephant.
Story and pictures by Christian Sperka
Yesterday I briefly visited the Zuerich Zoo in Switzerland. And I got my first glimpse of the new Elephant enclosure, a fascinating building within impressive grounds.
It will open in six days. After my return from the USA I will have a good look at this new exhibit, housing Zuerich’s Asian Elephants.
We were watching a breeding herd of Elephants in a forest area when the matriarch decided to change direction and cross the road just where we were. Normally, if one drives to close to Elephants they give clear signs of displeasure and it is wise to adhere to these warnings by giving them their required space. In this case they decided to use our space (around the car) and they were not disturbed at all by our presence. Their usual need for distance was quite diminished. Everyone on our vehicle had a great time watching them pass right in front of us!
The little one on the left side of the picture took a good sniff from this strange animal in front 🙂 – I have left the antenna and the top of the dashboard in the picture to show the distance.
The picture below shows the youngster pointing his nose (trunk) and tongue at us 🙂
I have had many different offices in my life – some with very nice views out of the window, some facing a parking lot and some with no view at all. But nothing compares with my office view at Thanda!
I was sitting at my desk working on images and email when I heard a faint splashing sound from the nearby waterhole, which, due to the recent heavy rains, is full for the first time since I have arrived on Thanda. I had a look out of the window and saw Elephants having a swim. I grabbed a camera with a long lens, walked down to the Thanda house fence and took some pictures of Elephants enjoying themselves in the water.
As the light faded, all of us at Thanda house stood there and watched until the last of the Elephants had left the waterhole. What an evening!
It is amazing how far Elephants move even if they take a leisurely pace. So following them if they move fast is quite difficult.
The Thanda guests on my vehicle enjoyed the fast drive to catch up with these gentle giants when they were on the way to the next waterhole. And we just caught them as they crossed the road in front of us.
A special type of road block 🙂
Christian Sperka Photography | Custom Luxury Tours 