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Namibia
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Central
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South
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North
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Wildlife and Game
Namibia
started to take the protection of wildlife seriously and game reserves, like the 20.000 sqkm Etosha National Park, were established. Today a total of about 120.000 sqkm, some 15% of the entire country, fall under nature conservation, not to mention the many private nature and game reserves.
Due to the growing numbers of visitors, many farmers have abandoned cattle and have turned their expansive farms into private game reserves. The biggest obstacle in Namibia is the immense spreading of thornbush as a consequence of poor rural farming methods and overgrazing by cattle, sheep and goats. While the thornbush thrives and forms impenetrable thickets, the fine yellowish shimmering grasses vanish - and they are the main food for game. The removal of thornbushes and the rehabilitation of the original grassland takes a long time and it often exceeds the financial means of the farmers.
In the arid desert and semi-desert south the variety is much smaller. Here the oryx antelope is dominant which has become perfectly adapted to the climate. Springbok, kudu, ostrich, baboon, mountain zebra and leopard are also found here. In the north-western part of Namibia, Kaokoveld and Damaraland up to the Skeleton Coast, desert elephants and a few lions that have adapted to the harsh desert conditions, can be found.In Namibia so far, 620 bird species have been recorded, most of them also breeding in the country. Some species are endemic, i.e. only live in the south-western part of Africa. The number of insect species is estimated at 20.000. Also among the reptiles some of the species - like the transparent Palmato Gecko - are endemic. And in Namibia, all the southern African snake species can be found, some of them poisonous like the Puffadder, Black Mamba, Green Boomslang, Cape Cobra and Spitting Cobra.
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