south africa – Page 161 – Christian Sperka Photography

2013-07-30

One more way to fight …

Fight Rhino Poaching from the Air!

ZAP-Wing is a partnership between the provincial conservation agency Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife and Project Rhino KZN. 24 game reserves (300,000ha) in northern KwaZulu-Natal currently benefit from daily aerial surveillance and reaction support; over 3,000 rhino are under the ZAP-Wing watch.

Thanda supports the organization and the reserve is covered by the ZAP-Wing.

Watch the video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=YY883N2d-Og),
check out the website (www.zapwing.org),
and support the fight for Rhinos!

2013-07-26

New, funny, harassed, well light and rocky!

A good morning drive on Ithala. I encountered …

… a new species (for me :-)): An antelope named Tsessebe, which I have never seen before.

… two Secretary birds with their funny walk across a burned area.

… a Tawny Eagle who was harassed by a Black-shouldered Kite.

… a well light scene at sunrise with Zebra and Wildebeest.

… and an exciting drive on a very rocky 4×4 trail.

Let’s see what the afternoon will bring!

2013-07-24

My favorite Elephant …

I like all the wild animals on Thanda but if I had to name my favorite Elephant this is the one. His name is Thulani.

Normally I do not use individual names for wildlife, but for our two largest bulls (40-45 years old / approx 6 tons in weight) I make an exception. Thulani can be identified by his calm nature and the “slightly out of line” tusks.

The Thanda guests on my vehicle really enjoyed the recent sighting of this gentle giant.

2013-07-23

Exciting encounter!

Thanda’s two Cheetah brothers had an exciting encounter today. When walking along Thanda’s fence line they walked into two Lionesses which gave immediate chase.

The Cheetah out-ran the Lions to the open Savanna and then were very alert for a while to make sure that the “ladies” were no longer around.

2013-07-22

Buffalo Scenery

At the start of today’s morning game drive we found ourselves in the middle of Thanda’s herd of Cape Buffalo …

… Then we watched a herd of Elephants drinking at a waterhole and …

… at the end tracked down the North Pride of Lions (the images shows a young male at his morning cleaning routine).

Three out of five – a good morning!

2013-07-21

On foot!

Our two Cheetah boys were lying in a recently burned area when we spotted them from the road. Driving off-road is not allowed on freshly burned ground so Bheki and I walked our guest a few meters to get a good view of those two magnificent creatures. Our guest enjoyed the experience very much. The two brothers kept us in view for a few minutes and then lost interest in the six humans nearby. What a sighting!

2013-07-17

Youngsters!

On today’s evening game drive we followed the Thanda Elephant herd for almost three hours. We saw them moving over a hill, drinking at a waterhole, racing away from the water, crossing one of Thanda’s major roads and then feeding in a beautiful fever tree area.

It was difficult to choose one image for today’s post, but my favorite shots are of the two youngest Elephants in the group. The Thanda guests on my vehicle agreed on the high “cuteness factor” for these two!

2013-07-15

Sunscreen, Insect Repellent and Cooling System!

Thanda guests enjoyed watching the herd of Elephants taking a mud bath at a waterhole. After an enjoyable swim and the mud bath they were dusting themselves before they disappeared back into the bush.

Elephant use mud and sand as a sunscreen, protecting their skin from ultraviolet light. Although tough, elephant’s skin is very sensitive. Without regular mud baths and dust baths to protect it from burning, insect bites and moisture loss, elephant’s skin may suffer serious damage.

2013-07-14

Arrived!

Over 1,000 additional antelopes and zebra arrived over the last few month at Thanda Private Game Reserve. These Impala, Wildebeest, Nyala, Zebra and Kudu will enhance the excellent Thanda Game Drive Experience even further. Besides seeing the Big Five on daily drives it is very exciting to see large groups of these herbivores roaming on the reserve.

The images show the release of a young Nyala bull and a group of Zebra.

2013-07-13

No “thorny” rides

The most important task for the Thanda Guiding Team is to show guests the many aspects of the Thanda ecosystem on game drives.

Another important responsibility is the bush-clearing of roads. During the summer many plants grow into the roadways and can turn a game drive into a “thorny” ride.

This collage shows the “before” and “after” of the road maintenance work of the guiding team, which ensures that the guests have a comfortable drive on the major routes through the reserve.