If you ever wondered what a Lion sees from a shady spot under a tree. Here is one possible answer: A group of Humans walking by :-)…….. I am sure that we walk quite often through the high grass and do not even know who spots us.
On our walks over the last two days we saw a few Cape Buffalo and an Elephant bull.
When I arrived at the camp two days ago this Bull was greeting me with a good head shake.
On the last day of our work cycle we had some unusual sightings. The Thanda guests on today’s morning game drive enjoyed a Spotted Hyena crossing the savanna in full daylight (a very rare occurrence).
We caught a glimpse of a young Leopard before it retreated into very thick bush and …
… we ended the game drive with an unusual view of the Elephant herd on the side of a hill, on which we cannot drive with our vehicles.
We also saw Cheetahs, a White Rhino, Giraffes and a Yellow-billed Kite on the same drive. A great morning!
After a very long work cycle (26 instead of 21 days) I will now be off for eight days before I leave for another “Trails Guiding Contact Session Course” with African Nature Training – ANT (www.africanaturetraining.co.za) in the Sabi Sands. I will return to Thanda on 24 March.
There will be fewer blogs during this time, but look out for the unusual ones 🙂
We had a great game drive this morning. After tracking for less than half an hour we found the breeding herd of Elephants feeding in thick bush. We watched them crossing the road in front of us and thought they might go to drink at a nearby waterhole.
And we were right. The whole herd was having a drink. The first picture shows the Thanda matriarch (she has no tusks) with another adult cow, one older calf and the two youngest members of the herd.
The next picture shows one of our oldest bulls drinking (he is currently in musth as indicated by the back legs wet from dribbling urine and the running glands on his head).
The third picture shows him on the opposite side of the waterhole (I prefer this distance for a musth bull 🙂
The herd is very protective of their young. In the last picture you can see on of the little ones “disappearing” between the females.
We finished off this Thanda morning game drive with coffee and cookies in the bush!
The answer to the question about the “hill climbing” Praying Mantis is African Elephant.
All answers to the original blog message were correct: (https://christiansperka.wordpress.com/2013/02/25/valley-and-hill/)
Have a good week!
On today’s game drive I had positioned my vehicle parallel to the path which the Thanda breeding herd of Elephant took across an open Fever Tree area.
This young bull did not like my parking spot and displayed his displeasure with various “Big Elephant Warning Signs”. When he realized that I did not move and that non of the adult Elephants came to his aid he shock his head one last time and moved on with the herd.
The Thanda guests enjoyed the “I am a big Elephant” show 🙂
This picture shows the Thanda Elephant herd crossing a road in front of two game drive vehicles.
In the summer time when the vegetation is very dense it takes excellent tracking skills and also a bit of luck to view these magnificent creatures in the open.
This little Elephant tried to capture the smells from our vehicle when we were watching it and its mum crossing the road in front of us.
Have a good weekend!
This large Elephant bull enjoys the cool water on a hot summer day.
Most mammals can use their sweat glands to cool themselves down. Elephants cannot sweat so they have to use other means to cool down. They pump huge amounts of blood through their ears (which represent 20% of their body surface) while waving the ears – as one means of cooling. They also try to use shade wherever possible and take extended baths on hot days. But one of the most effective ways of lowering their body temperature is to take a mud bath. The drying mud draws a lot of heat from the body and cools them down very effectively.
On yesterday’s evening game drive I took this picture of one of the largest Thanda bulls after he had a thorough mud bath.
The second picture is of a “family bath” a few month ago.
One should never push Elephants and move in too close to them.
But sometimes they choose to come close themselves. This female Elephant and the two calves where browsing on trees right next to our Land Rover before moving on to follow the herd.
My guests loved this close encounter!
PS: For the photographers among you: To get the effect with both “the Elephants” and “me in the mirror” in focus I overlaid two images with different focus (post-processing).
Christian Sperka Photography | Custom Luxury Tours 