THANDA – Page 86 – Christian Sperka Photography

2019-12-20

THANDA CATS BOOK

I am very happy to announce that the new THANDA CATS Coffee Table Book is now available for purchase in the curio shops at the Thanda Safari Lodge and at the Thanda Tented Camp.

I worked for the last ten year to put together this portfolio of Lion, Leopard and Cheetah images. All pictures were taken on Thanda Safari.

The book also features nature-related quotes from all over the world.

I am very grateful to Thanda for publishing this new edition. My special thanks to Pierre Delvaux, Thanda Safari’s Managing Director, for writing the foreword, to Dr. Luke Hunter, one of the world’s leading wild cat specialists, for contributing the introduction to the 108 page portfolio and to Heather Dugmore for editing the text.

The hard cover version is available for ZAR700 (i~EUR43/USD48) and the soft cover version for R600 (~EUR37/USD41). In case you are interested in purchasing a copy please send an email to christian@sperka.com.

#Christiansperkaphotography @christiansperkaphotography #thandasafari @thandasafari

2019-12-18

BIRD WEDNESDAY – SECRETARYBIRD

Unlike most birds of prey, the Secretarybird (Sagittarius serpentarius) is hunting its prey on foot, usually in pairs, stalking through the habitat with long strides.

Their prey consists of reptiles, insects, small mammals, birds and the occasional carrion.

They are well known for their ability to catch and kill snakes, even venomous ones!

#Christiansperkaphotography @christiansperkaphotography

2019-12-16

ECTOTHERM MONDAY – ANTS

Some *Ants* hunt, some just scavenge, some feed of the nectar of other animals. When they do kill their prey they tear them apart with their sharp strong mandibles.

It has been estimated that over 22,000 species of different Ant species live on earth, over 13,000 have been classified. South Africa has over 500 different species.

I took this picture of an Ant attack in my front garden at Thanda House.

This pictures were taken after dark with my iPhone XS Max.

#Christiansperkaphotography @christiansperkaphotography #thandasafari @thandasafari

2019-12-15

PICTURES OF THE WEEK – SLEEPY LIONS

Sleepy Sunday?

Take a leaf from the Lions’s book 😊

Male African Lions spend up to 20 hours a day snoozing, females get up to 18 hours of shuteye. That re-defines the word cat-nap!

Have a good week!

#Christiansperkaphotography @christiansperkaphotography #thandasafari @thandasafari

2019-12-13

MAMMAL FRIDAY – SOUTH AFRICAN GIRAFFE

A newborn South African Giraffe is ~1.8m (~6ft) tall. After a few hours of birth, the calf can run and is almost indistinguishable from a one-week-old.

Mothers with calves will often gather in nursery herds. In such a groups they may sometimes leave their calves with one female while they forage and drink elsewhere. This is known as a “calving pool”.

Have a pleasant weekend!

#Christiansperkaphotography @christiansperkaphotography #thandasafari @thandasafari

2019-12-09

ECTOTHERM MONDAY – African Giant Land Snail

Outside its native range it thrives in areas with mild climates. It can cause severe damage to agricultural crops and native plants. This snail is listed as one of the top invasive species in the world.

The African Giant Land Snail is also a simultaneous hermaphrodite (being male and female at the same time). Snails of similar size can transfer sperm both ways when mating (bilateral mating). If the the two mating partners are of different size then the larger specimen acts as female and the smaller as male (unilaterally mating).

#Christiansperkaphotography @christiansperkaphotography

2019-12-08

PICTURE OF THE WEEK – IMPALA

Have you ever wondered why Impalas usually look so immaculately groomed?

The answer is allogrooming (grooming one another with specially designed teeth). Impalas appear to be the only ungulates to display self-grooming as well as allogrooming.

I took this picture of a group of recently born and very cute Impala fawns during this afternoon game drive.

Have a good week!

#Christiansperkaphotography @christiansperkaphotography #thandasafari @thandasafari

2019-12-062019-12-06

Mammal Friday – Cheetah

This young *Cheetah* female was very alert when I took this picture. She made a quick bark-like sound as we came a bit too close for her comfort. As we backed off she relaxed and stayed for a photo session.

Interesting Cheetah fact: Cheetahs cannot roar. Non-roaring cats like Cheetahs have a one-piece hyoid bone. Only four of the 38 wild cat species can roar: Lion, Tiger, Leopard and Jaguar.

#thandasafari @thandasafari #christiansperkaphotography @christiansperkaphotography

2019-09-122019-09-12

Imagine! Four nights at Thanda Safari – Day 2

Getting up at 5:30 is a bit hard if one is not used to it. But if the weather is good, the luck on one’s side, going on an early game drive is very rewarding.

Day 2 of our safari experience could be called the Elephant Day! We had two excellent sightings with two different herds. But many other species were seen as well!

Feel free to ask any questions (as comments) or contact me at christian@sperka.com.

Leaving the comfortable Tent at 5:30 is hard …

… but being rewarded with a White Rhino sighting after tracking them for a short while made it worth while.

Encountering a female Cheetah hunting on the way to an Elephant sighting …

The first Elephant sighting of the day …

Giraffe and Oxpecker – a symbiotic relationship …

There are no better Elephant sightings as when they are seen at a water hole.

A Scrub Hare sighting during the day is rather rare …

… and we ended the day as we followed two Lionesses on our way back to the Thanda Tented Camp

Major sightings:

⁃ Elephants

⁃ White Rhinos

⁃ Lionesses

⁃ Kudu

⁃ Cheetah female

⁃ Burchell’s Zebra

⁃ Red-billed Oxpecker

⁃ Scrub Hare

⁃ … and many more general game species and birds

This one of a series of posts to document all drives and excursions during a four day stay at Thanda Safari. I hosted two guests from Germany on a Private Photo Safari with me as the guide, Bheki as the tracker and the Green Mamba 1 as the Luxury Safari Vehicle.

Imagine! Four nights Custom Luxury Safari at Thanda Safari – Day 1

This is the start of a series of posts to document all drives and excursions during a four day stay at Thanda Safari. I hosted two guests from Germany on a Private Photo Safari with me as the guide, Bheki as the tracker and the Green Mamba 1 as the Luxury Safari Vehicle. The next five posts are a visual record of the great sightings and interesting experiences the guests had during their stay.

Feel free to ask any questions (as comments) or contact me at christian@sperka.com.

Enjoy the images!

Day 1 – Arrival and Frist Game Drive