My favorite picture from today’s game drive is of one of the younger Elephant bulls sniffing the back of Anton’s game viewer. Priceless looks on the faces of some of the volunteers 🙂
Battle at Thanda
If you ever have seen the YouTube video “Battle at Kruger” here are images of a similar scenario at Thanda Private Game Reserve.
The actors in the drama were a herd of Buffalo, a Buffalo calf, a male Lion and an Elephant bull.
CAUTION: PLEASE DO NOT SCROLL DOWN AND READ FURTHER IF YOU ARE DISTURBED BY WILD ANIMAL INTERACTION PICTURES!
WATCH THE VIDEO OF THIS ENCOUNTER: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOEe5QeiKuU
It all started with the herd of Buffalo drinking at a waterhole. A young Buffalo calf had an injury above its left front leg which seem to have resulted in an infection. The calf could no longer follow the herd when they were ready to leave the waterhole.
Its cries for help attracted a male Lion who came to investigate. When he attacked the calf the Buffalo herd returned to the waterhole to defend the calf. The lion ran off.
The herd tried to leave again, but the calf – now also injured from the lion attack – could not follow. The Lion moved in again without actually making contact with the calf. This is my first picture as I arrived on the scene at this stage – the Assistant Wildlife Manager – Mariana – was already on the scene.
The herd drove the Lion off again.
And now an bull Elephant arrived at the waterhole to have a drink. He first ignored the calf now lying on the ground. At this stage I had to leave, so the following pictures are thanks to Mariana, who continued operating my camera in my absence (Excellent job – thanks!)
The lion tried to move in again, but the Elephant now drove him off. The Buffalo returned and guarded the calf for a while with the Elephant watching.
Only after all Buffalos and the Elephant had left the scene did the Lion return. He then carried away the carcass into thick bush.
The most amazing thing for me was that the small calf faced the lion and did not try to run away – a true Buffalo!
Below is a picture of the calf with its mother, which I took four days ago. At that stage the wound was visible, but the calf was still fully mobile.
A bit sad, but this is nature at work!
Jabulani, Drongo and the Sun
Jabulani, one of the large Elephant bulls on Thanda came quite close to the car today. I had positioned the car just off his path when he was walking away from a waterhole, where he had his evening drink.
I love bird photography! When I was having a bit of a rest on the porch of the Intebane Lodge (This is the place where all the volunteers stay), I took this picture of a Fork-tailed Drongo enjoying the aloe fruits. The orange on his beak is pollen from the aloe.
And another beautiful sunset in South Africa 🙂
Sundowners!
Well, normally it is the Thanda guests that have some nice drinks in the bush at sunset. But today we were very lucky to see an Elephant breeding herd having their drinks at the largest waterhole on Thanda just before the sun set.
This evening’s game drive was excellent. First we saw six Elephant bulls feeding and sparring. Then two male Cheetahs made their appearance – being disturbed by the bulls – and at the end we saw the breeding herd crossing the savanna ending up at the waterhole.
What a day 🙂
Birthday in the Bush!
Today I have celebrated my fiftieth birthday with a morning drive in the reserve (I am still learning the roads :-).
On the drive I ran into this Elephant bull at a small waterhole. He just had finished a “muddy”-bath and was resting from his labors. Looking at his size he could be my age, another gentleman in his best years!
On the same drive I took the picture of an African Hoopoe (picture below).
In the early afternoon I had an excellent massage at Thanda’s beautiful spa and then a relaxing break at one of the guest rooms (called villas, a much better name for those luxurious rooms), where I will also spend my birthday night. I am sitting in the lounge now writing this blog message. Dinner is soon to be served, and I am looking forward to it. The picture below shows the small pool and the the “day-bed in the trees” of my villa.
A quiet birthday in the African Bush with many good wishes from all over the world, a great way to turn fifty!
Thanks for all the birthday calls and messages!
Bad Luck – Good Luck
Today started with a bit of bad luck. Just driving at Base Camp I heard a hissing sound and realized that my back left tire was loosing air (fast!). So I had to do my first tire change – no problem :-).
A short while after I left the camp I realized that my right back tire was also slowly loosing air. No more spare tire, so I had to live the situation and I have to get the tires fixed tomorrow at the reserve’s workshop.
With my tire situation as it was I could not drive around a lot, and risking getting stuck somewhere on the reserve, so I spent most of my remaining game drive time next to the largest waterhole.
And here I got lucky. First a Buffalo mum and her calf came to drink (Picture below). It is very unusual to see a cow separated from the herd. The little one was quite young.
And shortly after they left a large Elephant bull made his appearance (Picture above). He chased all the drinking Giraffes away from the waterhole and had a good drink himself before he walked quietly away across the savanna.
So, after initial troubles, not a bad morning!
Picture of the Week 14 – The tree that shines from afar
[View all Pictures of the Week 2012]
This African Elephant is browsing in between Fever Trees on Phinda Private Game Reserve, South Africa.
In the Zulu language the Fever Tree is called umHlosinga (the tree that shines from afar). This beautiful acacia has a pale white bark and green foliage. It is one of the few trees where photosynthesis takes place in the bark. The yellow color on the Elephant’s skin is from rubbing against one of the trees.
Enjoy the picture!
The Tree That Shines From Afar ( Fever Tree – Acacia xanthophloea)
The Nashville Zoo Elephants Videos – 3 – Tasks, Talks and Beauty
This third video and last in the Nashville Zoo Elephants video series includes video clips about enrichment for the Elephants and the work the keepers do with them. It ends with a slide show of my best Nashville Zoo Elephant pictures.
There are three videos in this series:
– Video 1 – Introduction
– Video 2 – Care, Sounds and Details
– Video 3 – Tasks, Talks and Beauty
Enjoy the video!
The Nashville Zoo Elephants Videos – 2 – Care, Sounds and Details
This second video in the Nashville Zoo Elephants video series includes many pictures and video clips about Elephant care, a few interesting sounds and fascinating pictures of some details of Elephants (as the one of the molar above) .
There are three videos in this series:
– Video 1 – Introduction
– Video 2 – Care, Sounds and Details
– Video 3 – Tasks, Talks and Beauty
Enjoy the video!
The Nashville Zoo Elephants Videos – 1 – Introduction
In the last few weeks I have spent a lot of the time with the Nashville Zoo Elephants and their keepers.
This first of three videos about these amazing creatures is an introduction to the Nashville Zoo Elephants and the Elephant facilities at the zoo.
There are three videos in this series:
– Video 1 – Introduction
– Video 2 – Care, Sounds and Details
– Video 3 – Tasks, Talks and Beauty
Enjoy the video!
Christian Sperka Photography | Custom Luxury Tours 