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What do you think about spiders? Are they disgusting, dangerous, frightening? That is what most people think of them and therefore countless harmless and useful spiders are killed. With a few exceptions most spiders in Namibia do not cause any harm to humans.

Peter and Marilyn Bridgeford arrived in former South West Africa in 1976. at Okaukuejo in Etosha National Park on 31 May 1976. They were in their mid-thirties and Peter made his dream come true. He became a nature conservation officer and took up a position in Etosha National Park. 

The white barbel (Galeichthys feliceps), popularly known as white sea catfish, is one of the numerous species of surf fish caught on the Namibian coast from the beach or from boats. It is feared but also revered as a delicacy. This fish without scales needs to be handled with care because it is equipped with three razor sharp spines

Do you think that Spiders are disgusting, dangerous, frightening? That's what most people think of them and therefore countless harmless and useful spiders are killed. But most of the many species of spiders which occur in Namibia do not cause any harm to humans. Especially large spiders are far less dangerous than their appearance and reputation.

Anyone who has spent an evening in the Namib Desert or in the Kalahari must have heard the loud call of a barking gecko, especially during the summer months. Most visitors think that a bird must be responsible for the repetitive keck-keck-keck-keck-keck sounds. But it is a gecko, about six centimetres long, which lives in a burrow of up to a metre with numerous tunnels and at least one escape exit.

On 13 February this year (2019) it became official: Namibia’s African penguins on Halifax Island off Lüderitz are dying from the dreaded influenza A virus subtype H5N8. Up to February 18th a total of 345 birds had been found dead on the island. The carcasses were burned.

The incessant chirping in the blistering midday heat is unbearable and almost painful. And yet the insects that produce the deafening high-pitched notes are rarely spotted. Many people know the sound but have never seen a cicada. 

If they don’t hear the loud cackling of a Red-billed Francolin in the morning, many nature lovers feel that something is missing. Newcomers to Namibia are amazed when they hear the booming call for the first time and can hardly believe that an otherwise very quiet bird is responsible for this wake-up sound. But other francolins are pretty vocal, too.

On the Garub plains of south-western Namibia, home to the Namib wild horses, horses play, gallop across the desert and seek out grazing as they have done for the last hundred years. But all is not as it seems. The population of Namibs is on the brink of extinction and the situation is once again critical.

Spending a night in the African bush under the stars away from the city and listening to the sounds of various nocturnal animals is a magical experience. It is unforgettable to watch wild animals at a water hole where no noisy diesel generator disturbs the peace and quiet. In recent years solar water pumps and electricity generated by solar panels have replaced loud, puffing diesel generators at many lodges in Namibia, thereby enhancing the African experience for visitors.