Rosettes, Horns and a Gorgeous Bird!

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Two amazing days at Thanda! Even our most frequent safari guests were very impressed when we had Leopard and Black Rhino sightings two days in a row.

After last night’s exciting encounters with a young Leopard and three relaxed Black Rhinos (a bit of a contradiction in terms :-)), we spotted a big Leopard male early this morning and then found a quite nervous Black Rhino bull (being nervous is more standard Black Rhino behavior).

But the most exciting sighting for our guests was a Gorgeous Bush Shrike. This very colorful bird is often heard, but seldom seen (especially in good photographic condition). So after six years in which our guests were tracking this species in many different places around South Africa, yesterday Bheki and I were able to show them this beautiful creature (and we even got some decent pictures).

PS: I should mention that during their two-nights stay our guests also saw Lions, Elephants, White Rhino, Cape Buffalo, Cheetah, Black-Backed Jackal, Giraffe, Zebra, Kudu, Nyala, Impala, Wildebeest, Warthog and many different bird species.

20141214 - CS2_5940- T Young Male Leopard

20141215 - CS2_6015 - T Nervous Black Rhino Bull

Looking for mum …

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This young White Rhino female was looking for her mum when this picture was taken a few day ago. She was quite nervous being on her own.

The mother had separated herself as she gave birth to a new calf (no pictures yet 🙂 ).

Today, all three – mother, daughter and the new baby – were seen together.

Another great Thanda sighting!

And the answer is …

The picture shows a juvenile Red-billed Oxpecker looking for ticks inside of a White Rhino’s nose. The Oxpecker’s bill is black because he is not an adult yet.

Lisa W. (commented on my blog) got closest to the correct answer – Well done!

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More about …

Oxpeckers are endemic to the savanna of Sub-Saharan Africa. Their name arises from their habit of perching on large mammals, eating ticks and other parasites. Oxpeckers feed exclusively on the backs of large mammals. The smallest regularly used species is the Impala. Some potential Oxpecker hosts are intolerant of their presence. Elephants and Waterbuck will actively dislodge the Oxpeckers when they land.

This blog message contains the answer to https://sperka.info/2014/01/16/what-is-that/

Hunter or hunted?

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We had some great sightings this morning – First a herd of Buffalo enjoying themselves at a Waterhole, then four Lions trying to hunt some Buffalo and finally three White Rhino enjoying the sun after a mud bath. The guests on my vehicle were especially impressed with the Lion-Buffalo interaction. It was not always clear who was the hunter, and who the hunted? The Lions gave up at the end and the Buffalo moved on.

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At one time we could see all three “Big Five” species from one spot : looking to the left > the Lions / looking straight on > the Buffalo / looking to the right > the Rhinos. The three landscape images below were taken without moving the vehicle!

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Rhinos in the Snow?

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When one looks at this images one could think that these two White Rhinos are walking in the snow!

So I thought this makes for a nice Winter holiday images for all my friends on the northern hemisphere.

But, in reality the white stuff on the ground is ash from a bush fire. The Rhino mum and her calf enjoy rubbing their square lips in the ash – this makes them truly White Rhinos 🙂

Enjoy your Christmas/New Year holidays!

Christmas Sightings!

The Thanda guests enjoyed great sightings over the Christmas holidays.

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Two young Elephant bulls giving a sparring demonstration …

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… a White Rhino mum and her son hosting an Oxpecker party …

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… a young Kudu bull in front of a beautiful Thanda vista …

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… and Thanda’s dominant male Lion smacking his lips after a big meal!

Happy Holidays!

Pictures by Christian Sperka – Specialist Photography Guide and Resident Wildlife Photographer – Thanda Private Game Reserve.

Keeping up with mum

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In this picture the little White Rhino is running along mum towards a waterhole. Mum was a bit agitated, but it had nothing to do with the game drive vehicle in the area. A young bull was giving her some unwanted attention and she got out-of-the-way quickly (with her tail rolled up).