Sometimes a drive from the Pakamisa lodge to the horse stables can turn into a nice game drive. I first encountered a band of mongoose running across the road and I managed to take a picture as they quickly disappeared into thick bush.
Then I had my first ever sighting of a Black-headed Heron perching on of the stable fences.
And last but not least we encountered a beautiful, dark and very large male Giraffe. His name is Rufus and he is considered the king of Pakamisa 🙂
Two images I took yesterday on Pakamisa.
The first one shows some of the horses looking eagerly out of their boxes for the upcoming dinner.
The second one shows Pakamisa’s Ostrich family at their evening dinner – dad, mum and 16 little Ostriches.
… here we go … (answer to https://sperka.info/2014/10/10/what-cat-is-that/)
Snow Leopard, Pallas’Cat (or Manul), Tiger, Lion, Clouded Leopard, Jaguarundi, Cheetah, Serval, Jaguar, African Wild Cat, Leopard, Cougar (or Mountain Lion or Puma), Caracal and Eurasian Lynx.
A short quiz for the cat lovers among you!
These are 16 pictures of 14 different cat species – what species are they?
Oldies but goodies – one of my favourite Lion images ever 🙂
Sometimes safari guests think that a Cape Buffalo is just another type of cow. Far from it. These stocky herd animals can turn from fairly docile bovines into very dangerous opponents within seconds.
When threatened a herd will form a “battle array” with the large males up front, the younger males on the sides and the females and calves behind. In that formation they can even stand down a pride of Lions. For Humans on foot they can be one of the most dangerous encounters in the bush. There position as one of the Big Five is therefore fully justified.
This picture shows the Thanda Buffalo herd leaving a waterholes.
Picture by Christian Sperka – Specialist Photography Guide and Resident Wildlife Photographer – Thanda Private Game Reserve
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Today we changed the radio collar on our Cheetah mum so that the Wildlife Team can continue to monitor her progress – I was allowed to be hands – on for a moment – Thanks to Warren for taking the picture 🙂
And this is a collage of the operation – before – during – after
While browsing through some of my older images today I found this Leopard picture I took many years ago. It was never published. So here it is now.
Enjoy your weekend 🙂
Lions normally ignore game drive vehicles, especially when the encounter is on their terms. The Thanda dominant male was passing within touching distance of the vehicle, undisturbed by the humans within the car.
It was not necessary to tell any of the Thanda guests to sit very still and be quiet during this sighting, that was done quite naturally 🙂
What a morning!
One of Thanda’s largest Elephant bulls was standing still for a few seconds – for his close-up pictures 🙂 – before he moved on down the hill. This gentle giant was trailing the breeding herd which had crossed the road in front of the vehicle on the way to a nearby waterhole. What an experience for the Thanda guests!
Christian Sperka Photography | Custom Luxury Tours 