Namibia: Sanctuary of Giants

Sand dunes a 1,000 feet high, shimmering mirages and scorching temperatures—these are the deserts of northern Namibia. Although this place looks totally inhospitable, there is a remark- able diversity of life found here. But how do animals survive in this desert kingdom?

Although the dunes are barren, the dry riverbeds show signs of growth. And out of the heat, vast shapes appear. A herd of desert elephants ambles along the dry riverbed snif ng the ground with their lazy trunks. These remarkable creatures can smell the water underground and know where to find it.

An abandoned well attracts a troop of chacma baboons, followed by a small herd of oryx and springbok and nally a group of jackals. None of them has seen the pride of desert lions lying in wait.

It has been months without rain and even the desert-adapted elephants are nding it hard. Thunder- storms are rumbling in the Angolan highlands 500 miles to the north—all the desert life here in Namibia is dependent on the rain. But in some years it never arrives—and every creature of the sand rivers awaits its fate.