On the ground, life has adapted to this extreme environment. An early morning fog carries water across the sands. Beetles race to the top of dunes to collect moisture. This green-gaze adder sips dewdrops from its skin. Soon, the temperatures rise with the sun. To minimize contact with the hot desert sand, the adder side winds its way at the dune. A four-legged relative employs a similar technique. Burying under the sand can help avoid the heat, and help find a meal. The desert has many opportunities if you know where to look.

 

Further along the coast, thousands of fur seals hunt for food in the south Atlantic. These beaches are the breeding grounds for the fur seals, and the hunting grounds for jackals and brown hyenas, also known as strand wolves. They will strike at any pup left unguarded or alone, then retreat back into the desert.

 

In the interior, Salt Pans Harbor—— Namibia's most famous national park, Etosha. Animals of all shapes and sizes flock to the springs around salt pan's edge. The waters attract the thirsty and the hungry.

 

Wherever there is water, there is life. Deserts become forests; cities bloom; people and animals collide. But there is room enough for both in the wild open spaces of wild Namibia.