THANDA – Page 104 – Christian Sperka Photography

2014-04-16

A fighting break!

These two adult Giraffe bulls took a short break from their rather serious fighting and stared for a while across the beautiful Thanda landscape.

As for most male animals the reason for this fight was a lady in oestrous. These two were both possible mating candidates.

When Giraffes fight they will stand very close facing the same direction. In a strategic opportune moment they will try to swing their necks like long clubs at one another’s neck. If a blow is properly targeted the ossicones (the horn-like skull-extensions on top of the head) will impact with a loud thump. Adult male giraffe are actually bold on top of ossiconses from all the sparring and fighting.

If one of them has enough of the rather vicious blows, he will move off and leave the winner to claim his price.

Tomorrow’s blog message will show some images of the fight itself. Stay tuned!

2014-04-13

Posing!

This Water Monitor Lizard was enjoying the sun at Thanda’s largest waterhole. These intelligent reptiles are very shy and usually disappear quickly into water or high grass as soon as one approaches.

This specimen had a “trusting day” and stuck around for a lengthily photo session 🙂

2014-04-09

New Arrivals!

What a morning.

Leaving the lodge for a drive a bit later than usual we were first looking for our dominant male Lion. He had been sighted not far away from the Thanda Safari Lodge so we thought this would make a perfect first encounter of the day.

After we had a good look at this large cat, Bheki, one of Thanda’s expert trackers, suggested to have a closer look into a nearby drainage line. He had spotted some movement as I was turning the vehicle to leave the sighting.

And trough the thick bush we saw not only one of Thanda’s North Pride females but also her very small new cubs.

Keeping a respectful distance we made our way slowly around the location where the Lioness was resting, to an open area on the opposite side. After about ten minutes of patience the Lioness decided to present her new cubs to the world.

She brought them right into the open, lay down in the middle of the small pan (facing away from us, which showed how comfortable she was with our presence).

The three youngster, which we estimate to be 1.5 month old, watched us very critically as their mother was proceeding with the morning bath for the little ones.

After they had a good look at this “huge green animal with the round legs and the many eyes” they disappeared back into the shaded shelter of the thicket.

Mum kept enjoying the morning sun as we left the scene. My guests, Bheki and I were very happy. We were the first humans to set eyes on these beautiful little cats – the three newest members of the Thanda Lion family.

2014-04-08

An Elderly Lady!

This elderly Giraffe lady had a good look at this “noisy animal” before she decided to move off into the bush following the rest of her Journey (Journey is the proper term for a group of Giraffe).

Giraffes are one of the Thanda game drive favorites, especially for younger children, who seem to have a special place in their heart for these long-necked, gentle creatures.

2014-04-04

The Last Bush Disco!

In the past month we played our special “music” to the Thanda Lions on numerous evenings. (Also see our blog message about two young male Lions which are to be transferred to another game reserve – BUSH DISCO ? – http://thandablog.com/2014/03/01/bush-disco/).

A few times they joined us for dinner but often nothing happened. Every time we asked Mike Toft, our veterinarian for this Lion capture operation, to be there during these call-ups, the Lions decided not to respond. A few days ago, just as the sun came up, they came out to a road and decided to take a break right in front of our vehicle. But we had to race off to a very important meeting and the vet was far away. So darting was out of the question. And as usual, when we had everything in place, they were gone.

The next day we found some fresh tracks of these Lions and as we were setting up the speakers for another call-up a giraffe ran towards us and a lion’s head popped out from behind the bushes. By the time our vet arrived they disappeared into the long grass. Luckily one of them came back and Mike managed to dart him. But he disappeared into the bushes almost immediately. Not good 😦 To be continued…

The picture shows one of the young Lions in twilight and veterinarian Mike Toft with his dart gun.

Story and picture by Mariana Venter – Thanda Wildlife Management Team

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2014-03-31

My Space or Your Space?

We were watching a breeding herd of Elephants in a forest area when the matriarch decided to change direction and cross the road just where we were. Normally, if one drives to close to Elephants they give clear signs of displeasure and it is wise to adhere to these warnings by giving them their required space. In this case they decided to use our space (around the car) and they were not disturbed at all by our presence. Their usual need for distance was quite diminished. Everyone on our vehicle had a great time watching them pass right in front of us!

The little one on the left side of the picture took a good sniff from this strange animal in front 🙂 – I have left the antenna and the top of the dashboard in the picture to show the distance.

The picture below shows the youngster pointing his nose (trunk) and tongue at us 🙂

2014-03-192014-03-19

Going Vegetarian?

Hardy!

But this Thanda Lioness nibbled on grass for quite a while. That sort of behavior can mostly be observed after heavy meals, apparently to help with a full or upset stomach.

The Thanda guests were quite impressed to see this method of Lion “self medicating” 🙂

2014-03-152014-03-15

Don’t kill the monkeys!

There are monkeys all over Africa. And also at Thanda. Small Vervet Monkeys can be found on the reserve and, as everywhere else, they are mostly found around human kitchens and dining rooms.

They are very good in stealing food but it is important never to feed them. Also, one must avoid to present food to them. As cute as it might seem when a small child gives an apple to a monkey, this can lead to the death of this small primate. If wild monkeys, or any other wild animal, are continuously fed by humans they start seeing the humans as a source for food. And if on occasions there is no food forthcoming they can get very aggressive and use force to take what they want. As small as they are they are very strong and have formidable teeth. Any monkey incident can get very dangerous for children (and even adults) and as a result of such attacks the monkeys may have to be put down.

Lesson to be learned: Never feed a monkey – It might kill them!

The picture of this good-looking chap was taken at the Thanda Safari Lodge. Have a good weekend!

2014-03-13

A little beauty!

This small Spotted Bush Snake lives in the trees outside my room at Thanda house. On warm and sunny days this little beauty is hunting in the trees. And when anyone walks by it takes a peak from between the leaves.

I enjoyed taking some macro pictures of this small predator.

More about the Spotted Bush Snake:
(Philothamnus semivariegatus) – also called Variegated Bush Snake.
This snake can be found in variable colors, but most of the time bright green to darker green above. Adults can reach up to 1,3 meters in length. It is diurnal and it is an excellent climber. When this snake is disturbed, it will move away fast. If it turns defensive, it will inflate the neck and the blue skin in between the scales will be visible. This makes it look more dangerous, almost like a Boomslang. It is often mistaken for a Boomslang. This snake bites readily when trying to catch it. Although there are many differences, they both can be seen in trees and both are green. The Spotted Bush Snake is harmless to humans, but often killed, because of this confusion.
Quoted from “Snakes of South Africa”

2014-03-12

With Lions in a Car and an Elephant in the Garden!

What a day 🙂

In the late afternoon I was documenting a Thanda Lion capture operation on camera.
(Check out the Thanda blog with the pictures of that operation at http://thandablog.com/2014/03/12/a-new-home-for-two-thanda-lionesses/)
Two young female Lions were to be transferred to a new home on another game reserve in Kwazulu Natal. I was taking pictures of the scene when I found myself on the back of the vehicle speeding down the road – with the two sleeping Lionesses at my feet. My first time in a car with two Lions 🙂

Later in the evening I went out for dinner with a few colleagues. When we returned back to Thanda house we heard some branch-breaking-sounds from the garden. We took a look and realized that one of our young Elephant bulls had broken right through the Thanda house fence to get to some tasty looking trees.

He kept feeding of a fever tree while we were watching him from the side of the house (25 meters/yards away). From many signs all over the garden it was obvious that he must have spent hours feeding around the house. When he had enough of our garden he decided to take a different route out and “punched” another hole into our fence.

With Lions in a Car and an Elephant in the Garden! Another day in Africa 🙂

PS: Sorry for the low-quality Elephant image, but I thought it was worth showing this gentle giant in our garden at night.