This images shows the Thanda’s dominant male Lion enjoying the morning sunlight as the Thanda guest enjoyed watching him!
What a start for a great day!
Center Focus!
We were the center of focus for this young male Lion when we watched him and his family feeding on a Wildebeest kill. The Thanda guests on my vehicle enjoyed the attention!
Close up and personal!
Thanda guests often have fabulous Lion sightings. This morning the North Pride was resting on the savanna before continuing their walk to a near waterhole. They came close up and personal to one of our game drive vehicles. A thrilling moment for any safari guest!
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!
A bad image …
… but I had to post it 🙂
My first night back at Thanda and what do you think woke me up?
… Thanda’s dominant male Lion was roaring this morning and it sounded as if he was in front of my door. The sun had not risen yet, it was still quite dark. I got up and opened my front door to see the large male crossing the road outside the gate.
I had no camera in my room so I grabbed my iPad and took this (very marginal) image of the male disappearing into the grass. See if you can spot him.
A bad image, but what a wake-up call!
Welcome home!
Our dominant male Lion gave me an impressive “Welcome Home” at the end of today’s evening game drive.
The Thanda guests on my vehicle were most impressed … and so was I 🙂
What a feeling!
Being chased by a male Lion is an incredible feeling.
Even if the chase is not meant for the vehicle but for other Lions nearby. When this huge predator runs to close the distance to the vehicle your instinct is telling you to get away while your knowledge tells you to stand your ground.
While the experienced Thanda guides take the proper decisions – keeping a cool head – some of our guests have one of the most exciting moments in their life.
What a feeling!
A Lion’s drink!
This young male Lion is having a drink at one of Thanda’s waterholes. We were watching the Lions in the early morning going to drink after they had feasted the in the night on a Wildebeest kill.
More about cats drinking (quoted from ANTRANIK.ORG):
Cats lap water so fast that the naked eye can’t follow it fast enough to notice. When a cat is going to drink water, it will stick its tongue out, curl the tip of its tongue backward, not forward. This curled tip will touch the liquid, barely penetrating the surface, then retract its tongue back into its mouth very, very fast. The water sticks to its tongue and a mini-stream subsquently shoots up into its mouth thanks to the power of adhesion and cohesion, respectively. The cat will then close its mouth at exactly the precise moment where the most water will be in its mouth, just before gravity starts to pull it down.
And this is a link to a short video showing a cat drinking (really slow :-)):
Almost back!
I will be leaving for South Africa tomorrow evening, so I thought I post a few of the animal images I took at the Zurich Zoo. I have also included a picture of a stag which I took in a small local deer park.
I enjoyed my vacation in Europe – even if it was very cold and wet – and now I am looking forward to going back to the African bush 🙂
Oriental Short-clawed Otter
Indian Lion
Red Phanda
Egyptian Vulture
Panther Chameleon
Red Deer Stag
A Good Look!
Thanda’s dominant male Lion gave us “a good look” when we spotted him on the way to the lodge after bush dinner.
The guests on my vehicle were very impressed with the beautiful cat at moon light.
Christian Sperka Photography | Custom Luxury Tours 