Welcome to the inaugural blog post from Namibia from the Roadside.
The intention of this blog is to share stories and spotlights on things Namibia-related that we find interesting, and that we think you may too. This is not necessarily intended to relate specifically to travel and tourism, but may involve a range of topics relating to culture, history, and wildlife, which showcase the more and lesser well-known aspects of this diverse and fascinating country.
Through Namibia from the Roadside we are encouraging people, wherever you are in the world, to experience some of Namibia. A fundamental part of this mission is to promote respectful interactions in a country that is teeming with undisturbed wildlife, ancient cultures, and deep history. We believe that sharing stories and educating each other helps to do this. To have these delivered straight into your inbox, please consider signing up to our mailing list.
Without further adieu, let’s talk about Elephants.
People love elephants (ask your child). They are big yet soft. We hear about how intelligent they are as an animal species. We also sometimes hear about how endangered they are, or sometimes that some African country has too many of them, or maybe even that they are a pest. Really, these can all have truth to them - African elephant populations have fallen significantly over the last few years, meanwhile Countries like Botswana seem to be having problems containing their elephant population, who they say are damaging farms and livestock. There was even a story recently of a tourist in Thailand who was killed by an elephant during an activity where a tourist “bathes” an elephant. Like most human-animal relations, the human-elephant relation is complex, and probably not that well understood.
The elephant is the world’s largest land mammal, and the African elephant is slightly larger than the Asian elephant. As mammals with proportionally large brains, elephants have strong social hierarchies and familial bonds. They play with each other, teach things to each other, they have been known to mourn their dead, and they even intoxicate themselves on fermented Marula fruits. Their herds cover vast tracts of land and require serious quantities of food. They rely on memory - often passed down from older matriarchs - to find waterholes, dry riverbeds with underground springs, and safe paths through harsh terrain. It's therefore not surprising that they often encounter human habitations, and conflict.
Not a Different Species - But a Different Way of Life
In Africa, countries like Botswana and Kenya are home to hundreds of elephants in their lush national parks. Namibia too has significant elephant populations in its forest-covered North. Namibia is however home to a very unique tribe of elephants - the desert elephants of Damaraland and the Skeleton Coast. They wander entirely in the wild, and there are fewer than 150. These elephants aren’t a separate species, but their behaviour and appearance have evolved to match the desert’s demands. They are slimmer than typical African elephants, with slightly longer legs and broader feet - better suited for long, hot walks across soft sand and gravel. Locals sometimes call them “ghosts of the desert,” for the way they appear without warning, and vanish without a sound.
One of the most extraordinary and little-known things about elephants, especially desert elephants, is how they communicate - through the ground.
Elephants produce deep, low-frequency sounds known as infrasound, which can travel long distances through the earth. Other elephants can pick up these messages through the sensitive pads on their feet and trunks - detecting tiny vibrations in the ground. It’s thought they can communicate over tens of kilometres this way. This ability is especially valuable in open, dry landscapes where there are no dense forests to carry sound.
Desert elephants are gentle and slow-moving. They avoid unnecessary conflict, walk quietly, and rarely damage the environment around them - a stark contrast to elephants elsewhere who often uproot trees or trample vegetation. In the desert, survival means restraint.
I’ll never forget camping in Damaraland close to a dried riverbed, then next minute, the herd of what felt like hundreds was silently marching past, led by the matriarch and with the young elephants almost galloping to keep up. Another time, waking up from camp to discover that the bull (male elephant) known as Voortrekker, or among the locals simply as “old man”, was foraging nearby trees. A towering, breathtaking elephant, with the kind of full tusks which are rarely seen. We remained silent, waiting for him to finish up and move on. While ever elusive, you might be lucky and spot some in Damaraland upon climbing to the top of a large koppie (hill), with a view across miles. It will take an eagle-eye - you will be surprised how much they blend into the scenery (protip - the dung that they leave behind can also be a useful method for warding-off the Damaraland mopane bees, when set alight).
In the arid expanses of Damaraland and the Skeleton Coast, desert elephants play a vital role in shaping their environment, earning them the title of “ecosystem engineers.” Their daily routines, searching for food, water, and shelter, leave a lasting mark on the landscape, supporting a web of life in one of the harshest places on Earth.
One of their most remarkable habits is digging wells in dry riverbeds. Using their trunks and feet, elephants excavate shallow pits to reach underground water, creating muddy pools. Antelopes, birds, and even smaller mammals like meerkats rely on these elephant-dug wells during the dry season. Where rain is scarce, these become vital water sources for these desert dwellers.
Elephants also help maintain the desert’s sparse vegetation. As they feed on acacia pods, mopane leaves, or the occasional succulent, they move seeds across vast distances, dropping them in nutrient-rich dung that acts as a natural fertilizer. This seed dispersal helps plants like the iconic welwitschia (the world’s oldest plant) or hardy commiphora shrubs spread, stabilizing the soil and providing shade or food for other species. Their careful feeding habits - stripping leaves without breaking branches - preserve the fragile balance of the desert’s plant life.
Their paths through the desert also carve faint trails that other animals, from jackals to tortoises, often follow to find water or safer routes across rocky terrain. These trails can last for years, guiding wildlife through the vast landscape. By creating wells, spreading seeds, and leaving paths for their neighbors to follow, one can see how a herd of so few can have such a profound impact on the Namibian wild.
If you’re exploring Damaraland, look for these signs of their work: a muddy pool in a dry riverbed, a scattering of fresh dung sprouting new seedlings, or a well-worn trail winding toward a distant waterhole. These are the fingerprints of Namibia’s desert elephants, quietly leading desert life from the front.
Nonetheless, despite their low numbers and vast open space in Namibia, the desert elephants of Namibia do sometimes clash with human spaces. This is often in the search for water, where they will investigate a water tank and may cause damage to it - such tanks also of extreme importance to their human owners. People have also been known to unknowingly endanger themselves when collecting elephant bones and skulls as ornaments for their homes - the families of passed elephants have been known to search out their lost brother’s remains.
Organisations such as Elephant-Human Relations Aid (EHRA) (https://www.ehranamibia.org) do work in this regard, with programmes to build protective barriers around farmland, to reduce issues between elephants and locals. If you are passing through Damaraland close to Uis, they also offer wonderfully scenic camping by the Ugab river, as well as desert treks and educational activities.
Namibia’s desert elephants are a living miracle of adaptation. But they face increasing threats. While Namibia has made great efforts to protect them, their future is uncertain - made even more fragile by shifting climates and shrinking resources.
Yet they continue. Moving quietly through valleys and dry riverbeds, guided by memory, sound, and the silent rhythm of the desert beneath their feet.
When encountering an elephant, be it by the road, or close to your campsite, it is imperative to not disturb it. While these fantastic creatures are generally gentle, their size, speed, and power makes them uniquely dangerous. If elephants are crossing the road let them pass. Never approach them. If an elephant turns to face you, don’t make a sound, not even a click of a camera.
What makes Namibia such a unique and beautiful country is that so much of it remains completely wild. You won’t find elephant rides or photo opportunities of the kind of your friend who visited South-East Asia. When animals are truly wild, we implore that they should always be treated with respectful distance and deference - to let them be animals and go about their animal business. While this isn’t as marketable on Instagram, we think that this is how humans can have genuinely meaningful relations with the other inhabitants of this planet.
The elephant Voortrekker was sadly shot on the 25th of June 2019. I will remember him. I wonder if he would have remembered me.
Best,
Ian Paul
