Photography by Valji Varia
www.natural-variation.com
Face to face encounter with Desert-dwelling bull elephant in Northwest Namibia. Damaraland is located in the north-central part of Namibia and borders the Namib Desert in the west and the Kalahari desert in the east. Desert elephants or desert-adapted elephants are not a distinct species of elephant but are African bush elephants (Loxodonta africana) that have made their homes in the Namib. They tend to migrate from one waterhole to another following traditional routes which depend on the seasonal availability of food and water.
These elephants have developed certain adaptations for desert life and tend to have relatively broader feet, longer legs and smaller bodies than other African bush elephants. They may walk up to 70 kilometers at night to find water points, which is the cause of their bigger feet. Surface water in Kaokoland and Damaraland is very scarce and difficult to find and the desert-adapted elephants can go without water for up to three days at a time.
