lion – Page 34 – Christian Sperka Photography

2013-01-05

The Bush School!

On Thanda we have an old bush school (a few A-frame huts and an old wooden classroom building) which is left from the days when Thanda was farmland.

On hot days the Thanda North Pride likes to use the classroom as shelter from the sun. Here are a few images from our Lions in school.

The little ones (about 8 month old now) learn from mom that is time to stop suckling. They complained noisily.

The shaded cool concrete makes for an ideal resting surface. Especially the concrete table (on the left) is popular when is gets very hot.

So if one is on a walk, one needs to be careful to look for shelter at the school – the Lions may already be there 🙂

Have a good week!

2013-01-04

The Kill

If one watches animal programs on TV one usually sees the Lions running after the prey and then eating the animal. The struggle for food/life in between is rarely ever shown.

A few days ago my guests, Bheki and I watched such a struggle. The strength of the Zebra, the rush of adrenaline and the persistence and power of the Lions could be observed.

I was able to get one good images that documents this struggle (it all happened at night and we were using spotlights). Please do not click on this link if images of such scenes disturb you.

http://www.sperka.biz/thekill/h514dab36#h514dab36

2012-12-202012-12-20

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 2013

With my best wishes for the holiday season from South Africa – Christian

PS: The picture is of one of the North Pride Lion cubs at Thanda Private Game Reserve …

.. and the reason why I have not blogged since 16 December is that my internet connection was down for a few days.

2012-12-022012-12-02

I have got an eye on you!

This young male Lion was completely “stuffed”. He had feasted on a Wildebeest and had a hard time moving. But he kept an eye on us while we were watching him in his agony.

And this young Lioness was stalking and “mock attacking” our vehicle. This was very exciting for the guest on my game viewer and I got a good picture 🙂

2012-12-012012-12-01

The Thanda North Pride was not willing to move far of their Wildebeest kill when three White Rhinos moved through the area. The Rhinos investigated the kill while the Lions were watching closely. At one stage the Rhinos got too close for comfort and the Lions retreated (but not far :-)). One Lioness even “stalked” and “drove” the Rhinos to get them away from the kill. As soon as the large herbivores were gone the carnivores continued their meal.

I needed the wide-angle lens for most of the images, as it all happened very close to our game drive vehicle.

On the same game drive we saw a Black Rhino with their calf, newborn Helmeted Guinea fowl chicks and a Spotted Eagle Owl. What a day!

2012-11-302012-11-30

Observed!

I do not often post two pictures of the same series (bush photo shoot :-)), but after looking through all my images from that afternoon I really liked this picture of a Lion cub, being observed by Thanda guests from a game viewer.

2012-11-28

Young Predator – Young Prey!

My next guests are arriving tomorrow afternoon, so I had a day to do some photography work by myself. Just me, my cameras and my Land Rover.

My goal for the day was to take pictures of youngsters. I was lucky to get pictures of Lion cubs and Zebra fowls.

Here are two of my favorite images of the day.

2012-11-11

Not only the Five!

It is not always the Big Five which provide beautiful and special sightings. This Waterbuck bull was looking at us when we drove towards him on Ndlovu Highway. A rare treat.

We got many different antelope species on Thanda. Next to Waterbuck we have Impala, Wildebeest, Nyala, Kudu, Duiker, Steenbok and Reedbuck on the reserve.

… and a little special Waterbuck info: Waterbuck and Elephant are the only two large mammal species on Thanda which will not allow Oxpeckers to sit on them and feast on their ticks (see yesterday’s post: https://christiansperka.wordpress.com/2012/11/11/oxpeckers-and-buffalotail/)

2012-11-09

I can’t see!

The grass was bit high for one of our Lion cubs. The little one could not see properly so it decided to use the back of its uncle to get a better look what was going on.

Enjoy the weekend!

2012-11-07

Up the Mountain!

We tracked our Elephant herd for a long time when we spotted them going up a mountain. It is amazing how these huge creatures can move up a hill.

On the same game drive we found our four Lion cubs resting in a road after playing hard.

And on the way back to the lodge we had a good look at one of my favorite antelopes – female Nyalas.

Another hard day in Africa 🙂

Tag: lion