The desert-adapted elephant of north-western Namibia are not a separate species or subspecies. They are African bush elephant (Loxodonta africana) that have, over generations, learned to survive in a desert environment that their Etosha or Chobe counterparts would find fatal. The knowledge of how to find water in dry riverbeds, how to navigate hundreds of kilometres between water sources, and how to manage caloric intake in a landscape with sparse vegetation is learned behaviour passed from cows to calves over the decades of their long lives.
The Population
The north-western Namibia desert-adapted elephant population is estimated at approximately 100 to 130 individuals across the entire ecosystem. They are distributed in small family groups across a range that covers the Hoanib River (Damaraland, connecting to the Skeleton Coast), the Hoarusib River (connecting to the Skeleton Coast northern wilderness), and the inland Kaokoland ranges.
The small group sizes are an adaptation to the sparse food resources: where an Etosha savannah might support a herd of 50 at a waterhole, the desert environment can only support small groups that do not overwhelm any single water source or food area.
The Hoanib Corridor
The Hoanib River is the most important single movement corridor for the Kaokoland elephant. The river rises in the Kaokoland interior and runs west through the lower Palmwag Concession before entering the Skeleton Coast National Park. Along its course, the elephants dig for water in the sandy riverbed, creating pools that other wildlife uses. They feed on the ana trees and other riverine vegetation that grows along the subsurface moisture zone.
The Hoanib corridor connects to the Damaraland desert elephant population at Twyfelfontein and Palmwag, making the full corridor one of the most significant elephant movement routes outside formal conservation areas in Africa.
The same population uses the Hoarusib and Hoanib river corridors on the Skeleton Coast and the Palmwag Concession in Damaraland — a movement range that connects three of Namibia’s most remote wilderness areas.
Responsible Encounters
Desert elephant in Kaokoland have a complex relationship with vehicles. Some bulls have become habituated to tourist vehicles through the Damaraland circuit; others, particularly cows with calves, have had negative encounters with vehicles and respond with alarm or aggression to close approaches.
The responsible approach:
- Maintain a minimum distance of 50m at all times
- Do not cut off the animals’ movement direction
- Switch the engine off when watching stationary animals
- Retreat slowly if an animal shows signs of stress (raised head, ears extended, dust-kicking)
- Never follow a moving group