This small male White Rhino calf put us in our place!
He came right up to the vehicle (which was standing below his level) and showed us his “big” horn, jumped up and down and snorted a bit. When we did not react he retreated quickly back to mum. She was undisturbed by his “manly behavior”.
They were grazing in a beautiful area surrounded by trees. A fabulous sighting for my guests.
Thanda’s dominant male Lion gave us “a good look” when we spotted him on the way to the lodge after bush dinner.
The guests on my vehicle were very impressed with the beautiful cat at moon light.
… the Jacobson’s organ inside the mouth of an African Elephant.
This was a really tough one!
More about the Jacobson’s organ:
The Jacobson’s organ or vomeronasal organ is an auxiliary sense of smell organ that is found in many animals. This organ is the sense organ involved in the flehmen response in mammals. The Jacobson’s organ is mainly used to detect pheromones, chemical messengers that carry information between individuals of the same species. Its presence in many animals has been widely studied and its importance for reproduction and for social behavior has been shown in many studies.
Its presence and functionality in humans is controversial, though most studies agree the organ regresses during fetal development. Elephants transfer chemo-sensory stimuli to the Jacobson’s organ in the roof of their mouths using their “fingers”, at the tips of their trunks.
… the subject of this image?
What species and what part of the animal?
I am looking forward to the answers!
These were the three adjectives that came to my mind when I saw this young male Lion displaying his sharp claws. He was very wet and very dirty when we encountered the Thanda North Pride on our morning game drive.
If one gets up at 6:30 in the morning a good stretch is in order.
Well, the dominant male Lion on Thanda Private Game Reserve thought so, too.
Before he started for his morning walk he got himself aligned for the day 🙂
I love the back-light ears on this little Baboon!
Thanda’s Lions have their own pride rock 🙂
In the late afternoon two Thanda North Pride youngsters were overlooking the northern part of Thanda with the Lebombo Mountains in the background.
We often stop at this beautiful spot with our guests for a drink stop at dusk. Needless to say on this day we went to an alternate location 🙂
Have a good weekend!
Sorry for not blogging for a few days. I was very busy guiding and teaching photography. Now I am off work for seven days 🙂
So, I thought I share a few recent and very Thanda special sightings with you.
We spotted a small Serval on the fence to our base camp. This was my first Serval sighting at Thanda …
… our dominant male Lion got quite a fright when he almost stepped on this Puff Adder in the dark. The snake gave him a warning hiss and continued on its path …
.. and another first for me was a Secretary Bird hunting on our savanna …
… and last but not least two of my favorite Rhino images from the last two weeks. A Rhino illuminated with red light walking at moonlight and …
… a Rhino having a mud bath – pure bliss!
What a day – During today’s evening game drive we saw all the Big Five – Lion, Leopard, Elephant, Rhino and Buffalo. The Thanda guests were delighted – and so was I 🙂
Christian Sperka Photography | Custom Luxury Tours 