​Wildlife & Animals – Namib-Naukluft NP

Anthony Ham
Expert
By Anthony Ham

Anthony is a renowned Africa expert and author of many Lonely Planet guidebooks, including the 'Botswana & Namibia' guide.

Anthony is a renowned Africa expert and author of the 'Botswana & Namibia' Lonely Planet guide.

Anthony is the author of the 'Botswana & Namibia' Lonely Planet guide.

Namib-Naukluft is not really a wildlife destination. Visitors come here to see the desert environment. There are a variety of creatures present, although not all of them are easily seen. Oryx and springbok are most conspicuous; these desert-adapted antelope even inhabit the driest areas of the park. Closer to the rivers you can find klipspringer, steenbok and troops of desert-adapted baboons.

Abundant
Common
Occasional
Rare
None
ElephantNone
GiraffeNone
HippoNone
BuffaloNone
ZebraRare
WildebeestNone
White RhinoNone
Black RhinoNone
LionNone
LeopardRare
CheetahNone
HyenaRare
Wild DogNone

Wildlife Highlights

The Naukluft Mountains is a less visited section of the park. This area is more lush and home to additional species including the endemic Hartmann's mountain zebra. Smaller creatures include meerkat, yellow mongoose and Cape ground squirrel. Both spotted and brown hyena are present and you might well come across their distinctive white droppings.

Best Time for Wildlife Viewing

As wildlife viewing is hit-and-miss throughout the year, Namib-Naukluft can be visited at any time. There is very little precipitation, so when it does rain it is usually welcome. The cooler winter months from May to September are the most pleasant.

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