south africa – Page 146 – Christian Sperka Photography

2014-07-032014-07-03

Lion Family Life!

During this morning’s drive we spotted a Lioness with her small cubs along the road. She was leading us directly to a Wildebeest kill. The Lions had taken down the antelope only a few minutes before we arrived.

We observed the two Lionesses and their six cubs (three cubs approx 1.5 month old and three cubs approx 2.5 month old) while they had their relaxed meal. The little ones were eating and playing at the same time.

The cubs’ dad, Thanda’s dominant male, had obviously eaten before. He had a full belly and just watched his family having their feast. After a while he joined them without feeding, just to play with the kids 🙂

Warren Beets – Thanda’s Reserve Manager – was with me on the vehicle and as he had the better view from his position he operated the camera from time to time – Great job!

Lion Family Life – Enjoy the pictures!

Mum and her three cubs

An anxious look

The signs of a good meal

Resting on the kill

It is all mine 🙂

Cubs (2.5 month old and 1.5 month old)

Dad watching the scene

A bloody affair

2014-06-30

Should we move?

It is a very thrilling experience for many guests when a breeding herd of Elephants walks towards the vehicle.

And as a guide one sometimes hears a timid voice from the back asking “Should we move now?”

And the answer is …

… it depends. Thanda’s experienced guides and trackers know when to move and when to stay. In this case there was plenty space for the Elephants and all of them were very relaxed as they moved past the vehicle. So the guests were able to enjoy a close encounter with these gentle giants.

2014-06-29

I am back!

This morning I left before sunrise to drive from Pretoria to Thanda. As the mist lifted the African sun appeared and I knew I was back home 🙂

I enjoyed my trip to Europe and the USA very much, meeting with family and friends, gaining a few kilos :-), visiting many “new” and many “old” places. And now it is great to be back in the wild!

PS: Over the next few weeks I will still mix in some “Europe/USA” blog messages as I had no time yet to work on all the images I took!

2014-06-072014-06-07

BOOK and PRINTS

After this week’s presentations quite a few people have asked me if my images are for sale. They certainly are 🙂 … in a new BOOK I have just finished a new book about Thanda Cats. It is a 90 page portfolio with interesting nature/conservation related quotes. It is 12″x12″ (30cmx30cm) and it can be ordered on amazon.com. Just search for THANDA CATS and you will find the book.

In case you prefer an iBook version it is available on store.blurb.com (for iPad/iPhone only). Again, just search for THANDA CATS and you find the download page.

… as PRINTS or CANVASES Most of my images are for sale. You can review a large part of my portfolio (thousands of images) on www.sperka.biz. Just let me know which image you are interested in and I will send you a quote for the requested size to be printed on high quality photo paper or canvas. Most images can also be purchased as a digital high-res download for personal use. info@sperka.com.

I am looking forward to seeing many of my Nashville friends during tonight’s exhibition at the Nashville Art Crawl (https://sperka.info/2014/05/18/back-at-the-first-saturday-nashville-art-crawl)

2014-06-05

Back in Nashville!

It is great to be back in Nashville and seeing a lot of my friends in the Music City USA. Yesterday’s talk at the Brentwood Photography Group went very well and I am looking forward to being at the Nashville Zoo all day tomorrow.

In the evening I will be giving a presentation called “Keepers of the Wild” at the Zoo (The event is free to the public – http://www.nashvillezoo.org/events/lecture).

2014-05-222014-05-22

Ten years for Thanda and two years for me :-)

Lots to celebrate: Thanda its ten year anniversary (see http://wp.me/p43t9J-10s) and me living for the last two years in South Africa!

But the next five weeks I will be back in Europe (28 May to 1 June / 16 June to 26 June) and the USA (3 June to 14 June).

So there will be no messages from the African wild, but I hope to blog a few nice travel pictures/stories. Stay tuned ……

PS: During my stay in Tennessee I will give a few presentation about South Africa. For more information go to http://wp.me/p1rzfb-16r and http://wp.me/p1rzfb-16C

2014-05-15

“Two Years in the Wild” and “Keepers of the Wild” – Presentations in Tennessee

I am looking forward to my visit to the USA in June. After another year in the bush it will be great to see my Tennessee friends again. During my stay I will be giving two different presentations about my work in South Africa. All presentations are open to the public and no reservations are required.

I hope to see many of you on either of these occasions 🙂

“Two Years in the Wild” is the first presentation about my experiences in South Africa and my methods to get good wildlife images. This presentation is open to the public. I will be giving this talk in Nashville and in Cookeville.

When: Tuesday – June 3, 2014 – 6:30pm
Where: Brentwood Photography Group Meeting @ Otter Creek Church of Christ, Franklin Road, Brentwood, Tennessee – http://www.brentwoodphotographygroup.org/

When: Wednesday – June 11, 2014 – 7:00pm
Where: Cookeville Camera Club Meeting @ First Presbyterian Church, 20N Dixie, Cookeville, Tennessee – http://www.cookevillecameraclub.com/

“Keepers of the Wild” is the second presentation about the conservation efforts and challenges for a private game reserve in South Africa and about the rising threat to Africa’s Rhino population.

When: Thursday – June 5, 2014 – 6:00pm
Where: Nashville Zoo at Grassmere, Nolensville Road, Nashville, Tennessee – http://www.nashvillezoo.org/events/lecture

See you in Nashville or Cookeville!

2014-05-142014-05-15

Clean-up Crew!

Hyena are one of the most fascinating mammal species to observe . They are an important part of the bush clean-up crew and play a vital role in the circle of life.

With their grinning smiles and their awkward walking style (their very strong front legs are longer than the back legs) they are often disliked by many people.

But in this picture one of Thanda’s Spotted Hyenas shows itself from its “cute side” 🙂

2014-05-08

28mm

Sometimes pictures tell an exciting story. So do these!

They were taken with a 28mm (wide-angle) lens and not cropped.

Our oldest North Pride Lioness had decided to walk up to our vehicle and she had first a good look at me (picture below) and then at the guests behind me (picture above). My instruction to hold still and not move was followed without any discussion :-).

As she was in touching distance I took the picture above without moving the camera and without looking through the viewfinder (hence the funny composition). Nevertheless I thought many of you might enjoy this awesome predator’s look.

If you are interested why we were not in danger during the encounter with this dangerous cat go to https://sperka.info/why/.

2014-05-01

Not only milk!

Our little Lion cubs have graduated to meat dishes 🙂

Their mum – Thanda North Pride’s oldest Lioness – had caught a Warthog for dinner. As the sun set she moved the kill into a thicket not far from one of Thanda’s main roads. And as the light fated she fetched her little ones for dinner.

The image above shows one of the youngsters with a red nose from enjoying one of its first meat meals.

The collage below shows a small Lions’ feeding frenzy, a watchful mum and another on of the cubs showing some interest in my clicking camera.

What a sighting!

And this last collage shows the young Lions two weeks ago venturing very close to the game viewer before their mum led them away into the bush.

Pictures (1-4) by Christian Sperka

Pictures (5-9) by Bheki Ngubane – Senior Tracker – Thanda Private Game Reserve