On Christmas Day morning I enjoyed the sights and sounds of a herd of African Elephants around a Thanda Safari House waterhole.
I thought you might like this short video.
Enjoy the last weekend of 2019!
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One of my favorite pictures of one of my favorite birds – a Malachite Kingfisher – as a special Christmas treat.
Enjoy the day wherever you are!
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Midday on Friday a herd of African Elephants rushed past my home to get to the waterhole nearby. I followed them and was treated to a bit of entertainment.
Both Thanda herds met around the water on this very hot summer day. And as usual when two herds join it resulted in quite a bit of harmless chasing and trumpeting. What a show!
I thought you might like this short iPhone video collage.
Enjoy your Sunday and the upcoming Christmas week!
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A remarkable feature of Cheetahs is their unusually low genetic variability in comparison to other cats.
Individuals are genetically very similarity to one another. It is assumed that this might have resulted from a long period of inbreeding, following a genetic bottleneck during the last ice age.
These pictures of a Cheetah female – watching a two male coalition down the road and meeting them – were taken at Thanda Safari.
Have a good weekend!
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I am very happy to announce that the new THANDA CATS Coffee Table Book is now available for purchase in the curio shops at the Thanda Safari Lodge and at the Thanda Tented Camp.
I worked for the last ten year to put together this portfolio of Lion, Leopard and Cheetah images. All pictures were taken on Thanda Safari.
The book also features nature-related quotes from all over the world.
I am very grateful to Thanda for publishing this new edition. My special thanks to Pierre Delvaux, Thanda Safari’s Managing Director, for writing the foreword, to Dr. Luke Hunter, one of the world’s leading wild cat specialists, for contributing the introduction to the 108 page portfolio and to Heather Dugmore for editing the text.
The hard cover version is available for ZAR700 (i~EUR43/USD48) and the soft cover version for R600 (~EUR37/USD41). In case you are interested in purchasing a copy please send an email to christian@sperka.com.
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Unlike most birds of prey, the Secretarybird (Sagittarius serpentarius) is hunting its prey on foot, usually in pairs, stalking through the habitat with long strides.
Their prey consists of reptiles, insects, small mammals, birds and the occasional carrion.
They are well known for their ability to catch and kill snakes, even venomous ones!
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Some *Ants* hunt, some just scavenge, some feed of the nectar of other animals. When they do kill their prey they tear them apart with their sharp strong mandibles.
It has been estimated that over 22,000 species of different Ant species live on earth, over 13,000 have been classified. South Africa has over 500 different species.
I took this picture of an Ant attack in my front garden at Thanda House.
This pictures were taken after dark with my iPhone XS Max.
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Sleepy Sunday?
Take a leaf from the Lions’s book 😊
Male African Lions spend up to 20 hours a day snoozing, females get up to 18 hours of shuteye. That re-defines the word cat-nap!
Have a good week!
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A newborn South African Giraffe is ~1.8m (~6ft) tall. After a few hours of birth, the calf can run and is almost indistinguishable from a one-week-old.
Mothers with calves will often gather in nursery herds. In such a groups they may sometimes leave their calves with one female while they forage and drink elsewhere. This is known as a “calving pool”.
Have a pleasant weekend!
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Fish for lunch?
This *African Fish Eagle* caught his meal just in front of our boat.
For many people its distinctive and shrill cry represents the true spirit of Africa. This magnificent creature appears in the coat of arms of Namibia, Zambia, and South Sudan, as well as on the flags of Zimbabwe and Zambia.
And just in case you wondered: African Fish Eagles are related to the North American Bald Eagle and look quite alike, but they are two different species in the same genus.
They are both considered sea eagles not true eagles.
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Christian Sperka Photography | Custom Luxury Tours 