Tag: south africa

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PICTURE OF THE WEEK – ELEPHANTS AND THE ROLLING HILLS OF ZULULAND

uMkhanyakude is the name of the northernmost district in KwaZulu-Natal.

Thanda Safari – where I live and work – is located on the eastern border of this very rural district. It contains many areas of outstanding natural beauty such as the St Lucia greater wetland park, Hluhluwe-Umfolozi, Tembe Elephant Park and – of course – Thanda.

The picture shows a herd of African Elephants moving thru the rolling hills of the district.

Have a good week!

#Christiansperkaphotography @christiansperkaphotography #thandasafari @thandasafari

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MAMMAL FRIDAY – BABY ELEPHANT

A newborn African Elephant weighs about 90kg / 200lbs and is about 1m / 3″ tall.

At first, Baby Elephants don’t really know what to do with their long noses, sometimes they even step on them.

They will suck their trunks just as human babies will suck their thumbs.

Have a good weekend!

#Christiansperkaphotography @christiansperkaphotography #thandasafari @thandasafari

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PICTURE OF THE WEEK – AFRICAN LION

The flehmen grimace is a rather comical sight produced by many male mammals. The main organ involved in the grimace is the Jacobson’s (vomeronasal) organ, in the nasal cavity just above the roof of the mouth.

The function of flehmen is to identify reproductive status of a possible sexual partners by ‘analyzing’ pheromones in the air.

To accomplish this the male will inhale a lot of air through the mouth which will then reach the Jacobson’s organ.

Have a good week!

#Christiansperkaphotography @christiansperkaphotography #thandasafari @thandasafari

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MAMMAL FRIDAY – PLAINS ZEBRA

Plains Zebras (Equus quagga) are the most common and geographically widespread Zebra species (Southern and Eastern Africa).

The subspecies resident at Thanda Safari is called Burchell’s Zebra.

Enjoy your weekend!

#Christiansperkaphotography @christiansperkaphotography #thandasafari @thandasafari

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BIRD WEDNESDAY & NEW YEARS DAY – YELLOW-FRONTED CANARY

It was a hot first day of the year so I thought this picture of two Yellow-fronted Canaries – having a refreshing bath – would be appropriate for the first post in 2020. These small birds are also knows as Green Singing Finches.

I hope you had a good start into the new year!

#Christiansperkaphotography @christiansperkaphotography

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VIDEO OF THE WEEK – BLUE WILDEBEEST

Yesterday morning I took this video showing a baby Blue Wildebeest – also called Striped Gnu – standing up for the first time and following its mum. This happened only minutes after the birth.

Sorry for the shaky camera work, but I had to hand-hold a 500mm lens to get this footage.

Mother and child were running just ten minutes later. Nature is marvelous!

And, for the last time in 2019: Have a good week!

#Christiansperkaphotography @christiansperkaphotography #thandasafari @thandasafari

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MAMMAL FRIDAY – ELEPHANTS

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!

#christiansperkaphotography @christiansperkaphotography #thandasafari @thandasafari

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BIRD WEDNESDAY & CHRISTMAS DAY

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!

#christiansperkaphotography @christiansperkaphotography

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VIDEO OF THE WEEK – ELEPHANTS

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!

#Christiansperkaphotography @christiansperkaphotography #thandasafari @thandasafari

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MAMMAL FRIDAY – CHEETAH

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!

#Thandasafari @thandasafari #christiansperkaphotography @christiansperkaphotography

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