lion – Page 36 – Christian Sperka Photography

2012-10-27

A Warthog burrow, the Lions close and the Landi stuck :-)

Today I got my Land Rover properly stuck for the first time. While we were trying to get close to a pride of Lions resting in thick bush I dropped my right back wheel into the entrance of an old Warthog borrow which was filled with water (it looked like a puddle!).

So Bheki and I got to work while are guests remained on the vehicle. In close proximity to the Lions we used a high-lift-jack to lift the car out of the hole, placed two special “mud-ramps” under the wheel and drove the car out of the hole. This was a first such rescue mission for me. The guest thought the procedure was very exciting.

So for today I have chosen a Lion picture (taken today – a cub hugging an adult’s tail for comfort) and a picture of two Warthogs (taken a while ago – two males fighting).

I have no pictures of the vehicle rescue (I was otherwise engaged at the time :-))

2012-10-232012-10-23

Growing Fast!

When I saw our Lion cubs last night I had a hard time to believe that they could grow that fast in only 10 days.

We spotted them on a Wildebeest kill last night and watched them this morning eating from the kill and having a refreshing drink from mum 🙂

Enjoy the pictures!

2012-10-22

Proof!

When I drove towards Thanda House this morning I saw a few yellowish spots in a tree, which we not there before.

When I came closer I was surprised to see Lions lounging in a tree next to the road. And I was even more surprised to not only see the juveniles in the tree, but also one of the big Lionesses.

I watched them for a while (and they me :-)) until they decided that it got too hot up there and they moved across the road into thick (and cool) bush.

It was as that they wanted to proof the point I made with a picture I published yesterday (Lions and Trees – https://christiansperka.wordpress.com/2012/10/21/lions-and-trees/).

2012-10-21

Lions and Trees

It is often said that Lions only seldom climb trees.

In my experience it happens quite regular. Especially with cubs and juveniles. If one of the youngsters climbs a tree all the others usually have to follow :-).

And sometimes this can be quite amusing as the young males are usually much more clumsy at this than the females.

Have a great Sunday!

2012-10-14

Expression

I was filing images today when I came across this one. I love the expression on the young Lion’s face. He had just finished eating on a Wildebeest kill.

Have a good Sunday!

2012-10-13

Growing Fast!

Our four small Lion subs are growing up fast. But they are still the favorites for most of the Thanda guests 🙂

2012-10-07

Have a drink!

These are two pictures of our “Thanda Youngster” enjoying a drink. The mums patiently provide the milk.

The Elephant calf is two weeks old and the Lion cubs are about three month old.

Have a good week 🙂

2012-09-30

For the first time!

Today I saw the new Lion cubs of the Thanda North Pride for the first time.

The first-time-mom allowed us a few minutes of looking at the four cubs before she led them into thick bush.

2012-09-25

Let’s play, Bro!

This young juvenile Lioness is playing rough with her brother. I “found” this picture when I was organizing my pictures which I took before the rains. I like the action.

We have two Lion prides on Thanda. One in the North of the reserve and one in the South.

Have a good week!

2012-08-30

Walk the Mapogo Males

You may never heard of the Mapogo Male Lion Coalition of the Sabi Sands. For years a six male coalition “ruled” the Lion prides in the Sabi Sands. Two of these (now ten year old) Lions are still alive. Today we found and walked these two legendary males. We took a direct approach in which we made sure that the Lions knew we were there. The picture above was taken during the encounter.

We approached to about 50 meters (~ 130 feet) when one of the Lions showed some sign of “dis-comfort” with our presence. We extracted slowly (and safely) from the sighting. It was one of the most exciting things I ever done in my life!

We then went back and viewed them from our game viewer.

In the last few days we completed walks 6,7,8 and 9. This makes it now 49 km (= 31 miles) and 28 hours walking in the bush during the last week. The two pictures below are sightings of White Rhino and Buffalo on foot.

PS: If you like to know more about the Trails Guiding Course go to http://www.africanaturetraining.co.za. A great experience, even if you do it for fun and not for professional reasons.

To read more about the Mapogo males go to

History of the Mighty Mapogo Male Lions – by Brett Thomson