Elephant science, stories from the field and updates from the communities we work with. Everything you need to understand Namibia’s desert-adapted elephants.
From a boneless trunk with tens of thousands of muscles to feet that can “hear” rumbles through the ground, elephants are engineering marvels. Discover how elephant anatomy works, including their ears, tusks, skin and reproductive system, and how Namibia’s desert-adapted elephants use it to survive one of Earth’s harshest landscapes.
Namibia’s desert-dwelling elephants survive in one of the harshest environments on Earth. Their remarkable knowledge of water, food and ancient routes allows them to navigate the vast, arid landscapes of north-western Namibia.
After disappearing from the Ugab River for around two decades, elephants began returning in the late 1990s. At the centre of their return was a bull named Voortrekker, whose journey south marked a new chapter for elephants and the people sharing this landscape.