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.
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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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 🙂
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” 🙂
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!
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”
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.
If one would ask anyone who plans an African Safari what they would like to experience on their trip to the wild, most of the answers would include “getting close to the animals”.
For the Thanda guests on my vehicle that wish came true. Even more than expected!
This young Lioness was passing our vehicles in touching distance while staring at my passengers. One could hear a pin drop and breathing stopped for a little while as the predator silently went its way.
What a safari experience!
It was the first time I saw the new Lion cubs of the oldest Thanda South Pride female. The mum of the two youngsters is quite shy and likes thick bush. Bheki and I were on our way to take some pictures on the Thanda Mduna Royal Reserve. As we approached the fence line to this new part of Thanda we spotted the female with her two new cubs and the their two older brothers.
I got a few shots of some of the family members before they disappeared into a drainage line. This is my favorite images from this fast photo shoot 🙂
Since I have posted the image of a strangely colored bird a few days ago – now identified as a Village Weaver – a few of you have asked me about how do Village Weavers normally look like.
So here is an image of a Village Weaver pair mating in front of their nest.
Christian Sperka Photography | Custom Luxury Tours 