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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I spent another great weekend at Pakamisa. This very special Private Game Reserve combines five star luxury with horseback safari. It is one of my favorite places in South Africa.
Above is a picture from today’s photo shoot. The aim was to get a good image of riders on Horses, close to Giraffes. Mission accomplished 🙂
Isabella Stepski (the owner of Pakamisa) took this funny picture of Slinky, me and Bully on our way to the horse photo shoot and she also captured me on Badger, doing some “horse-back photography”.
And I love this image of the riders returning to the stables at sunset.
Another very enjoyable Pakamisa weekend! www.pakamisa.co.za
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” 🙂
I have had many different offices in my life – some with very nice views out of the window, some facing a parking lot and some with no view at all. But nothing compares with my office view at Thanda!
I was sitting at my desk working on images and email when I heard a faint splashing sound from the nearby waterhole, which, due to the recent heavy rains, is full for the first time since I have arrived on Thanda. I had a look out of the window and saw Elephants having a swim. I grabbed a camera with a long lens, walked down to the Thanda house fence and took some pictures of Elephants enjoying themselves in the water.
As the light faded, all of us at Thanda house stood there and watched until the last of the Elephants had left the waterhole. What an evening!
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 is amazing how far Elephants move even if they take a leisurely pace. So following them if they move fast is quite difficult.
The Thanda guests on my vehicle enjoyed the fast drive to catch up with these gentle giants when they were on the way to the next waterhole. And we just caught them as they crossed the road in front of us.
A special type of road block 🙂
Christian Sperka Photography | Custom Luxury Tours 