Namibia: wildlife

Following my recent trip to Namibia, here are some photos of the wildlife we saw there. For photos of landscape see here, and for people, birds and plants see this post. 

Female Eland, Bagatelle Kalahari Game Ranch

Much of the wildlife we saw was in Okonjima Game Reserve or Etosha National Park, but not all of Namibia's wildlife is confined to National Parks.

Blackbacked jackal, Okonjima Game Reserve

Okonjima Game Reserve is family-run and is the home of the AfriCat Foundation, which is committed to the long-term conservation of large carnivores, particularly cheetah and leopard.

Leopard tortoise, Okonjima Game Reserve

Okonjima means 'the place of baboons'.

Banded mongoose, Okonjima Game Reserve

Group of Kudu, Okonjima Game Reserve

Cheetah, Okonjima Game Reserve

Leopard, Okonjima Game Reserve

Dik-dik, Okonjima Game Reserve

Etosha means 'place of mirages', 'place of emptiness, or 'great white place' according to which source you consult, and the National Park covers 22,912 km2. It was first proclaimed in 1907 when it covered ≈80,000km2, but was gradually reduced to its present size.

Black rhino? Etosha National Park

At its centre is the large Etosha Pan which covers 4,731km2. At its widest point it is approx. 110km by 60km. The Pan is mostly dry except after heavy rains.

Parent & child, Etosha National Park

Entering the Park from the east, we stayed one night at each of the Namutoni, Halali, Okaukuejo camps.

Giraffe, Etosha National Park

Lying 1,000 to 1,500 metres above sea level, the Park is composed of semi-arid savannah and contains 114 mammal species.

Elephant, Etosha National Park

Honey badger, Etosha National Park

Millipede (known locally as a shongololo)

Zebra crossing, Etosha National Park

Etosha National Park is home to many of Namibia's lions

Pride of lions, Etosha National Park

male lizard, Grootberg

caterpillars galore, Spitzkoppe

On the Skeleton Coast can be found the country's best-known breeding colony of Cape fur seals, where they number 100,000.

Cape fur seal, Cape Cross Seal Reserve

Pups are born during late November or early December, meaning at the time of our visit about half the colony was composed of pups.

Cape fur seal cub, Cape Cross Seal Reserve

Cape fur seal colony, Cape Cross Seal Reserve

Cape fur seal, Cape Cross Seal Reserve

beetle in sand dune, near Swakopmund

Wildebeest: mother & calf

unidentified insect, Kalahari

Meerkat, Bagatelle Game Ranch

This is just a small selection of the many animals we saw.

See also:

• Namibia: places and landscapes
• Namibia : people, birds & plants
• South Africa