You can keep your Leopards and Hyaenas… A previous trip
report author had described this chunky species as “having put the greatest
smile on my face” when he saw one at Waterberg, and I can see why! Our
encounter was on the road to Waterberg, when a small rat-sized animal dashed
across the road. We had great views of it by the side of the road and then
chased it around a pile of rotting wood until it went to ground. Essentially an
overgrown mouse with a tiny “trunk”.
The denizens of rocky places. Our first distant baboons were
seen at Daan Viljoen, but we were to regularly encounter feeding parties by the
sides of the road in Central Namibia, including on the drive to the airport.
The most evocative troupe lived around Erongo Wilderness Lodge, where their
roars welcomed the dawn and echoed dramatically around the chambered gorge. The
most memorable troupe however were the ones that raided the Waterberg
residences in the middle of the afternoon, clanging open bins, checking window
catches and generally conducting a methodical and ruthless search of the
premises.
One small party were observed in one of the remotest and
driest corners of Mahango Reserve, climbing up an Ebony Tree.
Probably the least exotic of our
Namibian mammals, looking every bit like hares closer to home. We saw our first
one while we were driving blindly around the Halali campground (trying to find
our way out!) at night. A more diurnal Scrub Hare lived in the tall grass in
front of our hut at n’Kwazi Lodge near Rundu.
Hard to beat for entertainment
value! These sociable mammals are likely to be the first on any Namibian list
as they inhabit the grounds of Hosea Kutako International airport. Their habit
of standing up on their hind legs with tails aloft as parasols is very
reminiscent of Suricates (which alas we did not see on out travels). Having a
troupe begging around your car in Etosha for cashew nuts is likely to be a bit
of a film burner.
Tree Squirrel Paraxerus cepapi
A couple of these more “regular”
squirrels were seen in the Caprivi, where they tended to be rather timid and
quick to dash up a tree for cover, rather than pose for photos like the Ground
Squirrels.
Springhare Pedetes capensis
A fantastic mammal rather like a
cross between a hare and a bettong that is likely to make Australians homesick
if they glimpse one bounding across the savannah. We saw Springhares on both
evenings that we went on night drives at Hobatere, where they showed a distinct
preference for open sandy soil. Their huge eyes glowed very brightly in the
spotlight beam once they had bounced off to a safe distance.
Greater Cane-rat Thryonomys swinderianus
It took me a good ten minutes of
patient waiting by the tall reeds at the edge of Okavango in front of n’Kwazi
Lodge before I was able to glimpse the animals that were noisily thrashing
around the sedge. These proved to be mammals that appeared to be the size and
shape of small otters, but had strangely rodent like faces. The field guide put
me out of my misery – basically the largest rats that I have ever seen!
Dassie Rat Petromus typicus
Very strange largish “rats” with
pointed faces, huge whiskers and bushy tails, which were seen in the heat of
the afternoon grazing around the rocks in front of the main veranda of Erongo
Wilderness Lodge. Rather cutely often stood up on its hind legs to grab hold of
vegetation that was otherwise out of reach.
Tree Mouse Thallomys paedulcus
Small mammal, big ears, big
reflected eyes, up a tree at night – we thought we had nailed our bushbaby in
the grounds of Namutoni Restcamp until the use of binoculars revealed that it
was too small and had too much of a rodent face. Nonetheless the Tree Mouse is
a large attractive mouse and we were pleased to have caught up with it.
Bat-eared Fox Otocyon
megalotis
They are certainly ears to be
proud of… We had one fairly reasonable, but distant view, of a Bat-eared Fox
digging away at something on one of the Hobatere night drives.
Black-backed Jackal Canis
mesomelas
First encountered on our last
morning at Hobatere, these purposeful looking carnivores were to become a
regular sight around the Etosha waterholes. They seem to mysteriously appear
from almost nowhere, trot around the waterhole checking up on what is going on,
grab a quick drink and then trot off again. Day or night.
Honey Badger Mellivora capensis
Anita gets all the credit for
spotting this one while we were on “Sandgrouse duties” at dusk by the small
waterhole adjacent to the grounds of Hobatere Lodge. She spotted a furtive
mammal that slunk in for a quick drink just beyond our view. We waited for it
to slink off again, and were astonished to see the unmistakable two-tone grey
and black of a Honey Badger scuttling back into the bushes. Nice one!
Banded Mongoose Ictonyx
striatus
Namutoni Restcamp was visited by a
very approachable foraging party of around 20 of these animals just after
breakfast time. They seemed quite oblivious to our interest as they scratched
their way across the lawns. Several much smaller groups of Banded Mongoose were
also seen around the residences at Waterberg.
Slender Mongoose Galerella sanguinea
There is some debate as to whether
we saw this species once, or twice. A yellow mongoose with a dark tip to its
tail seen around the Okaukuejo waterhole was assumed to be Yellow Mongoose –
until we saw a real one and realised that it does not have a dark tail tip.
When a second yellowish mongoose with a dark tail tip was glimpsed dashing down
a burrow on the Waterberg entrance road, more careful research revealed that
both these animals must have been Slender Mongoose (the Stuarts’ field guide
has a misleading photograph of a very dark Slender Mongoose).
Yellow Mongoose Cynictis
penicillata
A very attractive small mongoose
(with a white tail tip) that we had excellent close views of from the car on
the margins of Etosha Pan (close to the Etosha lookout) as it ran backwards and
forwards in search or prey close to the edge of the road.
Small-spotted Genet Genetta
genetta
The most commonly observed species
on both Hobatere night drives, with up to five of these attractively spotted
cat-like animals on each night. Some of them crept off into the darkness, while
others climbed trees and offered superb views from the safety of a high bough.
Spotted Hyaena Crocuta
crocuta
These caused some angst in Etosha
when we had failed to connect with any after almost three days in the park.
However success came on the second last morning, when a party of three were
observed about 50 metres from the side of the main road between Halali and
Namutoni, before they loped off into the thornveld. A single animal was also
seen having a sleep in a small depression on the Andoni Plain.
Brown Hyaena Hyaena
brunnea
The second night drive at Hobatere
included an exciting Brown Hyaena chase, after one animal was glimpsed running
over a rocky outcrop in the farthest margins of the spotlight. Try as they
might, the guides failed to relocate this animal and it is noted as the worst
of our sightings, with the shaggy coat and classically hyaena gait the only
fixes we had on it.
African Wild Cat Felis silvestris lybica
Two “tabbies” were seen close to
Hobatere Lodge on our first evening there, but none were seen the second night.
Although a genuinely wild species, it is difficult to appreciate this when
extremely similar animals are seen on a daily basis terrorising birds in my
Twickenham garden!
Lion Panthera leo
It is very hard to adequately
express the feeling of seeing Lions for the first time in the wild. A pride of
about ten animals were prowling around tourist vehicles at Okondeka waterhole
on our first afternoon in Etosha. Should you wind your window up when there is
a lion next your car? Unfortunately they were somewhat harassed by some
aggressive tourist tanks and strolled of to the edge of the waterhole for a
sleep. All the other lions we came across were also essentially fast asleep!
Two big males under an acacia bush about 10 kilometres from Halali and another
small pride stretched out by Andoni waterhole, causing much restlessness
amongst all the other intended waterhole visitors. I can safely report that
these are not present in Twickenham!
Leopard Panthera pardus
On our first evening at Halali it
is quite possible that some members of the audience, seated in rows on the
natural rocky amphitheatre and utterly absorbed by the elephant soap opera
unfolding metres in front of them, may not have noticed a relatively small
animal that quietly crept up to the edge of the waterhole and quenched its
thirst. However by the time that it had chased a few Double-banded Sandgrouse,
prowled around the elephants’ legs, had another drink and then wandered back
off into the bush, most people had worked out what it was.
Aardvark Orycteropus afer
Well – we didn’t think we had a
prayer of seeing this one! Mammal of the trip by a good stretch… These were
rated as about 4% chance on the Hobatere night drives, and we had much
bantering with the guides about Anita’s desire to see an Aardvark. Thus when
“Aardvark” was shouted from the front of the jeep as we returned home on our
last evening, I don’t think we could really believe what was happening. Piggy
ears, snout, I guess it had to be an Aardvark. It didn’t exactly hurry out of
the spotlight either. We are still pinching ourselves…
Elephant Loxodonta Africana
The elephants were on the march
westwards through Etosha during our visit, and we ran into them in the middle
of the park. Our first group of 24 at Aus waterhole were absolutely
spellbinding. We watched for over an hour as they bathed in the water fountain,
accompanied by an almost eerie silence, broken only by a strange quiet rushing
noise generated by flapping elephant ears and splashing water. On arrival at
Rietfontein waterhole we watched a departing party of 12 animals. Finally a
group of around 20 elephants were at Halali waterhole at dusk, and were soon
joined by a further 10, leading to a noisy dispute that resulted in some
departures and some aggression by a young bull, who stomped around picking
fights with some of the newcomers. Elsewhere, the Hobatere camp was visited by an
elephant overnight, and there were fresh tracks on the road when we left.
Sections of Mahango Game Reserve had been devastated by elephant damage, but we
saw no animals during our three visits there.
Rock Dassie Procavia capensis
A quite comical species that was
common almost anywhere with extensive rocky outcrops. Relatively abundant
around Erongo Wilderness Lodge, where one of the cliffs in the entrance gorge
was literally covered with dozens of animals at first light. “Hyraxes” are also
surprisingly agile climbers and were often spotted clambering around in the
foliage. Common and approachable on the edge of the Waterberg escarpment, and
even recorded in the low hills surrounding Avis Dam.
Hartmann’s Mountain Zebra Equus zebra hartmannae
The chunkier and wilder looking of
the two zebra species, and only observed at the main Hobatere waterhole, where
a small herd (that included a very young foal) were just leaving as we began
our morning watch from the hide. A very wary party of four animals came back in
the late morning, extremely sensitive to activities both in and around the
hide.
Plains Zebra Equus burchellii
One of the commonest mammals in
Etosha and regularly observed by the side of the road from the moment we
entered the park until our departure. Some quite substantial herds were seen,
and interestingly the striped markings caused a lot of confusion when animals
were seen in the distance – almost every time we had a “what on earth is that?”
mammal in the distance, it turned out to be Plains Zebra…
Hook-lipped “Black” Rhinocerus Diceros bicornis
The “Black Rhino” did not prove to
be a particularly elusive beast at Etosha because one was at the waterhole in
the heat of early afternoon when we first arrived at Okaukuejo. A further five
were present there at the evening floodlight show. They are astonishingly large
and robust mammals when you see them on their own, but the mother and calf that
turned up at the Halali waterhole when the elephants were present relatively
appeared to be no bigger than warthogs!
Warthog Phacochoerus africanus
Speaking of which… A quite
improbable looking pig species that was fairly common throughout Namibia,
notably being one of the few wild mammals regularly encountered outside of
parks and reserves. Single warthogs were often encountered at waterholes,
including those at Etosha and Hobatere, but small parties were also often noted
scurrying in the bush, including sightings at Erongo and Mahango.
Hippopotamus Hippopotamus amphibious
Undoubtedly one of the most extraordinary
mammals on this planet. Although we saw some distant hippos in Mahango Game
Reserve, our intimate familiarity with them stemmed from the flotilla of up to
20 animals that parked by the sandbar right in front of Ndhovu Lodge. The
inactivity of the hippos by day was quite something, easily passing as exposed
river-smoothed rocks that occasionally yawned, snorted or dipped beneath the
surface. Late afternoon, however, they all slowly drifted off, bellowing and
grunting to one another, and this monstrous serenade continued steadily all
night. Things that go “Owwpph” and “Rkaaarggh…splash” in the night… No
swimming!
Giraffe Giraffa
camelopardalis
We were kept waiting until Etosha
before we encountered our first giraffes, but once they had started appearing
there was no stopping them. Common throughout Etosha and always striking to
observe, whether galloping on stilts through the bush, hacking apart an acacia,
or splaying their legs to drink. Very graceful mammals for their ungainly size.
Probably the most memorable moment was the steady line up of giraffes very
slowly coming in to drink at the floodlit Okaukuejo waterhole. We also saw
giraffes in Mahango Game Reserve.
Buffalo Syncerus caffer
The last of the alleged “big five”
species, although we’d be tempted to draw up our own such list! Mahango Game
Reserve has a relatively small population of Buffalo, and we saw them on two of
the three outings in the park – firstly at a distance out in the reeds, then
the next morning at close range, running from the edge of the road. Fairly
impressive mammals, but by no means the most remarkable of the trip.
Eland Taurotragus oryx
Recording the presence of “wild”
game is increasingly difficult in environments where large tracts of land are
protected by game fences and where there have been widespread reintroductions.
Eland is probably the only species on this list where the animals noted were
almost certainly re-introduced. We came across five Elands patrolling the
boundary fence of a large game reserve to the south of the Waterberg entrance
road. They were very wary and soon galloped into the scrub. Massive antelopes.
Kudu Tragelaphus strepsiceros
A striking antelope with twisted
horns and vertical white striping on the body. This was very much the “default
antelope” in most of the regions that we passed through, being sighted almost
everywhere in variable numbers. Kudu was also the only antelope species that
was encountered several times on the road, outside of parks or game reserves.
Bushbuck Tragelaphus scriptus
Now notably scarce in Mahango Game
Reserve, we were fortunate to see a party of three animals in the late
afternoon, quietly foraging on the edge of some dense scrub close to the
floodplain. The ram is attractively marked, with a sturdy stance and unusual
horizontal white markings on his front and legs, while the female resembles a
deer fawn.
Roan Antelope Hippotragus equinus
We saw several single animals and
one small party of this impressive antelope species in Mahango Game Reserve,
The long sharply curved horns and pied face pattern of this bulky mammal stood
out amidst the dry and dusty landscape. The Roan really looks as if it should
be standing out on top of an exposed rocky outcrop, roaring to the moon, but
most of the ones we saw were just quietly going about their business… We also
glimpsed some “dodgy” Roan just north of Windhoek, presumably on the property
of a small game farm.
Sable Antelope Hippotragus niger
A smarter, sleeker, slimmer,
darker version of the Roan. We encountered only one group of Sable in Mahango
Game Reserve, where they proved very wary and kept their distance from our
vehicle. A beautiful antelope.
Gemsbok Oryx gazella
The noble “Oryx” was one of the
commonest mammals in the north-western section of our journey, with good
numbers manning the Hobatere waterhole for most of the day, and enormous
numbers throughout Etosha. An unmistakable species, with a very box-shaped
body, bold markings and long straight swept-back horns. Gemsbok males were
often noted locking horns in combat. Also present on a significant number of
menus in Namibia!
Lechwe Kobus leche
A fairly plain antelope that was
common on the Mahango floodplain, but recorded nowhere else. Probably the most
“deer-like” of all the antelopes that we encountered and superficially
resembling the next species, which occupied similar habitat.
Reedbuck Redunca arundinum
Also only recorded at Mahango Game
Reserve, and in much smaller numbers than the Lechwe. The ram’s short forward
pointing horns were the main identification mark and we initially confused this
species with the Lechwe, above.
Blue Wildebeest Connochaetes taurinus
What could be more quintessentially African than a herd of Wildebeest
stomping across a plain? Apart from “dodgy” wildebeest in Daan Viljoen, we only
saw this species in Etosha, where it was fairly common, although distinctly
patchy in its distribution. The most memorable sighting was in the late
afternoon at Andoni waterhole, where a column of Blue Wildebeest approached the
waterhole and then halted beneath a thundery sky when they realised a pride of
lions were lounging around in the adjacent salt pan.
Red Hartebeest Alcelaphus buselaphus
A stocky and distinctly bovine
looking antelope that nobody could ever describe as exactly pretty. Excluding
the “dodgy” Daan Viljoen examples, we only actually recorded this species at
one Etosha waterhole, Olifantsbad, which was a bit surprising.
Tsessebe Damaliscus lunatus
Having seen a Red Hartebeest it
seems impossible that there could by an uglier member of the antelope family.
But there is. Looking more like a pair of bizarre medieval players dressed in a
pantomime cow costume, we only saw a handful of single specimens scattered
around Mahango Game Reserve. Poor Tsessebe, I wish I could love you more…
Impala Aepyceros melampus
Perhaps the most classical looking
antelope that we came across in Namibia. The smart Black-faced subspecies was
fairly common in Etosha and encountered at most waterholes. Impalas were also
fairly common in Mahango Game Reserve.
Springbok Antidorcas marsupialis
Probably the commonest antelope in
Etosha, where enormous herds were commonly encountered. Really quite a
beautiful little antelope and incredibly agile. We also saw this species in Hobatere
and were delighted to see one “pronking” ahead of us on the road – a
spectacular jump that is performed on stiff back legs and appears to project
the animal into temporary orbit. Deceivingly, I have never seen a South African
rugby player even come close to this feat.
Damara Dik-dik Madoqua kirkii
An absolutely diminutive antelope about the size of a poodle, with two tiny little horns that can’t be useful for too much. We were delighted to catch up with this apparently shy species each time we drove slowly around Etosha’s “Dikdik drive”. However this illusion was shattered at Waterberg, where you could walk right up to them next to the residences.
Klipspringer Oreotragus oreotragus
I am glad that I paid close
attention to the tiny antelope that jumped across my path and leapt onto a rock
on my first early morning walk in the gorge at Erongo Wilderness Lodge. It was
the first and last one that we saw.
Steenbok Raphicerus campestris
A neat sandy coloured antelope,
resembling a small slim Roe Deer. This was a species of the bush and we picked
them up in the late afternoon at Erongo, on one of the night drives at
Hobatere, and a few isolated specimens as we drove around scrub areas of
Etosha.