On Christmas Day morning I enjoyed the sights and sounds of a herd of African Elephants around a Thanda Safari House waterhole.
I thought you might like this short video.
Enjoy the last weekend of 2019!
#christiansperkaphotography @christiansperkaphotography #thandasafari @thandasafari
Midday on Friday a herd of African Elephants rushed past my home to get to the waterhole nearby. I followed them and was treated to a bit of entertainment.
Both Thanda herds met around the water on this very hot summer day. And as usual when two herds join it resulted in quite a bit of harmless chasing and trumpeting. What a show!
I thought you might like this short iPhone video collage.
Enjoy your Sunday and the upcoming Christmas week!
#Christiansperkaphotography @christiansperkaphotography #thandasafari @thandasafari
A remarkable feature of Cheetahs is their unusually low genetic variability in comparison to other cats.
Individuals are genetically very similarity to one another. It is assumed that this might have resulted from a long period of inbreeding, following a genetic bottleneck during the last ice age.
These pictures of a Cheetah female – watching a two male coalition down the road and meeting them – were taken at Thanda Safari.
Have a good weekend!
#Thandasafari @thandasafari #christiansperkaphotography @christiansperkaphotography
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!
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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.
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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
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
I am featuring a species or family of species per week on my social media channels. Here is a summary of the last week’s posts (and some blog bonus images). I hope you enjoy some of my favorite Kingfisher pictures :-).
Pygmy Kingfisher
Note:
Grey-headed Kingfisher and Half-collared Kingfisher are the two South African Kingfisher species which I have no pictures of.
#Christiansperkaphotography @christiansperkaphotography
I am featuring a species per week on my social media channels. Here is a summary of the last week’s posts (and some blog bonus images). I hope you enjoy some of my favorite African Wild Dog pictures :-).
#Christiansperkaphotography @christiansperkaphotography
I am featuring a species per week on my social media channels. Here is a summary of the last week’s posts (and some blog bonus images). I hope you enjoy some of my favorite Burchell’s Zebra pictures :-).
#Christiansperkaphotography @christiansperkaphotography
… next week’s species: Warthog
Christian Sperka Photography | Custom Luxury Tours 