One of Thanda’s oldest Elephant bulls walked quietly towards the sunset. Before he disappeared in the bush he provided the Thanda guests a very close encounter with a gentle giant.
Nature at Work
Observing “nature at work” can be difficult at times. Last nights Lion sighting showed that human sentiments do not apply to animals.
We observed a Lioness, which had killed a Blue Wildebeest, first eating the unborn calf fetus before returning to the adult kill.
Shortly afterwards the Lioness was chased off the kill by Thanda’s dominant male Lion who took over the feast.
The first image above shows the Lioness when feeding. The second image shows the male after the take over.
I got some amazing footage from this very unusual sighting. The links below lead to four more images.
WARNING: Please do not click on the links below if you are disturbed by images of animals feeding on other animals.
Rambo and I!
Besides game drives Thanda guests are offered many additional activities.
The most popular is the Elephant Interaction on a neighboring property.
The first image shows me with Rambo, the 4 ton bull who is the largest of the three Elephants which guests interact with.
The second image shows young Jabulani reaching out for her treats.
And the the third image features Jabulani’s mum Rachel getting her fair share.
A very special experience 🙂
Mummy, get him!
Imagine you are a Baby Elephant …
“Well, today is a very windy and cold morning. We were all were pretty thirsty and moving towards a waterhole …
… when grandma spotted a Lion …
… We do not like them! …
Mummy started walking really fast, trumpeting and everything. Great! …
… I love a good chase and I ran as fast as I could – keeping up with mum. But we did not get him 😦
Grandma decided to turn back towards the water.
Maybe next time 🙂 “
This is a “record” of an exciting Elephant/Lion chase at Thanda Private Game Reserve, enjoyed by many Thanda guests on a very windy morning.
Following the herd!
Being close to wild animals has its thrill. But sometimes the best sightings are observing animals from a distance. The Thanda guests on game drive were fascinated to see one of Thanda’s largest Elephant bulls following the herd while crossing a recently burned area. Strong winds and the evening sun created a very special twilight atmosphere!
Enjoying the morning sun!
Thanda guests and Thanda Lions are enjoying the morning sun together!
Seeing these magnificent creatures makes a great start for the day.
They are well!
We saw the Thanda Cheetah mum today with her two cubs. Both of the cubs have grown a lot and are looking very healthy – they look like real Cheetah now 🙂 – What a sighting!
During the same game drive I got my first picture of a Pygmy Kingfisher and we had sightings of our two male Cheetah, three Lions and two Spotted Hyena feeding on a kill.
Angry under the sun!
When this young Lioness saw Thanda’s dominant male approaching she got very upset. She started growling in his direction and her four cubs ran for cover. She then prevented the male from following the cubs by blocking his way.
All of this happened under a beautiful morning sky with a colorful rainbow. What a sighting!
Sit still, watch and learn!
These young Lions were sitting still and watching their mother, aunts and older sister going off hunting.
The guest on my vehicle were very exited when the complete Thanda North Pride moved around the car towards their prey. The Lions just came from a meal – judging from their reddish fur – but they were looking for a second course. As long as we watched them they were not successful. Better luck the next time!
World Rhino Day!
Today is Wold Rhino Day – This is a chance to raise awareness and support for these prehistoric creatures. Over 600 rhinos have been killed this year in South Africa alone, that is more than 2 each day!
The Thanda Foundation is a founding member of Project Rhino Kwazulu Natal, an organization dedicated to the fight for Rhino survival.
Please show your support by sharing this message and/or by actively supporting Project Rhino (http://www.projectrhinokzn.org). Thank you!
Picture by Christian Sperka – Specialist Photography Guide and Resident Wildlife Photographer – Thanda Private Game Reserve
Christian Sperka Photography | Custom Luxury Tours 