Namibia Wildlife

With this breadth and variety in mind we’ve put together a selection of the most iconic animals in Namibia to spot:

13 Iconic Animals of Namibia:

Lion

Leaping in at first place is the lion, also known as the king of the jungle. Lions are the largest and most sociable of Africa’s cats. At up to 225 kg, the lion  (Panthera leo) really is the king of all savanna animals (not jungle!), though in Namibia these creatures are desert-adapted with slightly longer legs and shaggier coats than normal lions.

When you hear them roaring during the night, or the day, you’ll be amazed at how loud and powerful they actually are – don’t worry about not hearing the lions’ snarls or roars, as they can be heard from up to 8 kilometers away. It really is a once in a lifetime opportunity to see lions hunting, or lion cubs playing with each other (but watch out for those man-eating lions!).

African Elephant

The African elephant (Loxodonta africana) is the largest land mammal and heaviest land animal in the world, weighing up to 6 tonnes. And in Namibia’s Etosha National Park the elephants are huge (meaning they’re fairly easy to spot!).

Elephants play a vital role in the survival of other species by digging waterholes in dry riverbeds, spreading seeds through theirs faecal matter, and creating natural fire breaks in the landscape with their trails, and they do all this on only 2 hours sleep in a 24 hour period!

Rhinocerous

Rhinos are something you just need to see in real life to understand how impressive they really are.

Once widespread through sub-Saharan Africa, the rhino has been hunted to the brink of extinction, and is probably the hardest of the big five animals to spot in the wild. There are two species of rhinoceros in Africa – the black rhino (Diceros bicornis) and the white rhino (Ceratotherium simum).

Whilst white rhinos have made a comeback through conservation efforts across the continent, black rhinos are still very much one of Africa’s most endangered animals, and the hardest safari animals to spot. The fundamental differences between the white and black rhino are not color, but rather size, temperament, food preference, and mouth shape.

Cape Buffalo

Weighing in at not too far short of a ton, the African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) has a reputation for being bad-tempered and dangerous. Whilst solitary buffaloes can be unpredictable (and dangerous, hence their inclusion in the big five animals), they are usually a docile beast when in a herd… aside from their tendency to stampede en masse when alarmed.

Not sure about the differences between a bison and buffalo?

Spotted Hyena

There are four species in the hyena family, varying in size and shape.

Hyenas are unique and vital components of most African ecosystems, both taking advantage of other animals’ kills for easy meals and hunting themselves. The size of a hyena kill or scavenge is generally determined by the size of the hyena’s clan, which can run to dozens. They often hide extra food in watering holes, since nothing is wasted. Hyenas eat every part of an animal, including bones and hooves.

Zebra

Zebra are perhaps the most stylish of African animals, with their characteristically stunning coats of black and white stripes. These distant relatives of the horse are a frequent sight on any African safari and consist of three different species.

There are many theories about why zebras have stripes, and it seems that perhaps the most likely answer is that the stripes function as a way to deter biting insects like tsetse flies and mosquitos.

Plains zebras play a particularly interesting role in the ecosystem, as they are pioneer gazers, nibbling and feeding on the top-most layer of grass, thereby opening up the grassland for more specialized grazers looking for the short grasses tucked below.

Giraffe

Perhaps the ultimate icon of the African savanna, the giraffe is an unmistakable land mammal known for their long necks and spotted coat (and super-weird giraffe tongue!). They were known by Arab prophets as the ‘queen of the beasts’ because of their delicate features and graceful poise.

With nine subspecies sharing its distinctive characteristics, this African safari animal is the tallest in the world by some way, and amongst the heaviest and largest animals anywhere. The giraffe’s coat is characterized by dark blotches on lighter hair. With age, male giraffes may become darker, and while calves inherit spot patterns from their mothers, each giraffe has a unique coat pattern that sets it apart.

Giraffes have a sharp sense of hearing and smell, another defense against predators, while it can close its nostrils during sandstorms and against ants.

Aardvark

Aardvarks live throughout Africa, south of the Sahara. Their name comes from South Africa’s Afrikaans language and means ‘earth pig’. Being nocturnal, they spend the hot African afternoons resting in their cool underground burrows, and night time foraging in grasslands and forests for termites.

Aardwolf

Aardwolves are nocturnal, solitary foragers, only coming together to mate and rear young. The name Aardwolf means ‘earth wolf’ in Afrikaans and stems from its supposed dog-like features and its diet of termites which it digs for in the ground and in the termite mounds.

Oryx

There are 4 species of oryx, all of which live in or on the fringes of desert areas, and can live for days without drinking water. Oryx eat foliage, grass, herbs, shrubs, plants, legumes, juicy fruits and roots, and buds, generating the water they need from these plant resources they eat.

Interesting oryx fact – the Arabian oryx is the first species to have changed back from ‘Extinct in the Wild’ to ‘Vulnerable’, as categorized in the IUCN Red List in 2011.

Bat-eared Fox

As the name indicates, this fox has unusually enormous ears in proportion to its head, like those of many bats. Their bodies are generally yellow-brown with a pale throat and under parts. Bat-eared foxes are primarily found in East and Southern Africa where there are short-grass plains and plenty of termites and beetles.

Ostrich

The common ostrich is the tallest and heaviest bird in the world, with an average height of over 2 meters (sometimes as tall as 2.7 meters) and a weight of up to 160 kg. At this size, the ostrich is, of course, flightless, but can outrun plenty of animals with its top speed of 69 km per hour. Their long, powerful legs double up as defensive weapons which pack a powerful kick to would-be predators.

Ostrich are very well adapted desert animals, able to survive without water for days, generating water internally and extracting water from vegetation.

Meerkat

The meerkat, or suricate, is a small carnivoran in the mongoose family. It is the only member of the genus Suricata. Meerkats are predominantly desert animals and live in all parts of the Kalahari Desert in Botswana, in much of the Namib Desert in Namibia and southwestern Angola, and in South Africa.