A very lucky day!

This morning’s game drive on Ithala was excellent.

First I saw a lot of Baboons on a newly burned area …

… the I got some great shots of a Secretary Bird …

… and finally I found a small breeding herd of Elephants near one of the waterholes …

… and as per Ithala rule I kept my distance (over 30 meters from the herd). But one cow did not like me looking at all and chased me down the road. She was quite serious in her attack (ears back, trunk rolled up, so sound and fast takeoff). While driving with my left hand and watching her in the mirror I took a picture with my point and shoot camera out of the window at 40 kph…

An exciting morning at Ithala. I will be back!

2013-07-24

My favorite Elephant …

I like all the wild animals on Thanda but if I had to name my favorite Elephant this is the one. His name is Thulani.

Normally I do not use individual names for wildlife, but for our two largest bulls (40-45 years old / approx 6 tons in weight) I make an exception. Thulani can be identified by his calm nature and the “slightly out of line” tusks.

The Thanda guests on my vehicle really enjoyed the recent sighting of this gentle giant.

2013-07-22

Buffalo Scenery

At the start of today’s morning game drive we found ourselves in the middle of Thanda’s herd of Cape Buffalo …

… Then we watched a herd of Elephants drinking at a waterhole and …

… at the end tracked down the North Pride of Lions (the images shows a young male at his morning cleaning routine).

Three out of five – a good morning!

2013-07-17

Youngsters!

On today’s evening game drive we followed the Thanda Elephant herd for almost three hours. We saw them moving over a hill, drinking at a waterhole, racing away from the water, crossing one of Thanda’s major roads and then feeding in a beautiful fever tree area.

It was difficult to choose one image for today’s post, but my favorite shots are of the two youngest Elephants in the group. The Thanda guests on my vehicle agreed on the high “cuteness factor” for these two!

2013-07-15

Sunscreen, Insect Repellent and Cooling System!

Thanda guests enjoyed watching the herd of Elephants taking a mud bath at a waterhole. After an enjoyable swim and the mud bath they were dusting themselves before they disappeared back into the bush.

Elephant use mud and sand as a sunscreen, protecting their skin from ultraviolet light. Although tough, elephant’s skin is very sensitive. Without regular mud baths and dust baths to protect it from burning, insect bites and moisture loss, elephant’s skin may suffer serious damage.

2013-06-18

Giant Pictures

When one is taking close-up pictures of two male Elephants sparring it feels a bit like taking pictures of two giants. In this case the two young bulls were close enough to merit the use of a wide angle lens which is not used too often for wildlife photography :-).

The Thanda guests on my vehicle and on the vehicle in the picture enjoyed this action-filled sighting.

2013-05-15

And the answer is …

… the Jacobson’s organ inside the mouth of an African Elephant.

This was a really tough one!

More about the Jacobson’s organ:

The Jacobson’s organ or vomeronasal organ is an auxiliary sense of smell organ that is found in many animals. This organ is the sense organ involved in the flehmen response in mammals. The Jacobson’s organ is mainly used to detect pheromones, chemical messengers that carry information between individuals of the same species. Its presence in many animals has been widely studied and its importance for reproduction and for social behavior has been shown in many studies.

Its presence and functionality in humans is controversial, though most studies agree the organ regresses during fetal development. Elephants transfer chemo-sensory stimuli to the Jacobson’s organ in the roof of their mouths using their “fingers”, at the tips of their trunks.

2013-04-27

Big Five in One Drive !

What a day – During today’s evening game drive we saw all the Big Five – Lion, Leopard, Elephant, Rhino and Buffalo. The Thanda guests were delighted – and so was I 🙂

2013-04-05

Fill up, get cool and move on!

Imagine you are an Elephant Bull living at Tembe Elephant Park.

It is midday and you are due for a service 🙂 You move to the largest of the
waterholes …

… and fill up with fresh water while some human tourist watch you
drinking…

… you meet a few of your pals, some of them friendly and some of them are ready for a fight…

… you finish your drink and do a little light sparring…

… you move on to the “cool down” mud bath. Some big shots are in front of you so you have to wait your turn…

… what a great feeling to cool down in the heat of the day …

… you chase a Wildebeest around a bit – just for fun …

… and have a little dust shower…

… and now it is time you move back into the bush to continue your on-going
meal (about 350kg per day).

🙂

Today I have observed this scenario 14 times at Tembe Elephant Park. All 14 bulls adhered to the same procedure – creatures of habit!

Have a good weekend!

2013-04-03

Great Tuskers

In 2008 I was for the first time at Tembe National Elephant Park (This picture was taken then).

Tembe is know for some of the greatest tuskers in Africa (=Elephants with very long tusks). I will be spending the next two days at this reserve and I hope I get to see some of these “teeth giants” 🙂