The Savannah elephant population in Namibia is said to be a healthy 24,000 elephants, but the Desert Elephant number is 300 to 350 animals and classified as, ‘close to extinction’.

At one time the Desert Elephants were thought to be a sub species of the Savannah elephant but, for now, they have the same classification.

It seems to me that this is evolution in action.

To adapt to the harsher living conditions the desert elephant is smaller ( probably because of food scarcity), it walks further to feed, and it has longer legs and bigger feet to get traction in the sand.

Desert elephants, unlike their Savannah cousins never damage trees or bushes, seemingly understanding that their food source is scarcer and more precious to their own survival.

I took this picture of the Ugab river basin from afar. You can see the sliver of greenery across the desert. The main feeding grounds of the elephants.

Elephants need to eat 150kg of food each day and drink 100-200 litres of water. Savannah Elephants live in habitat where the average annual rainfall will be 200-300mm. Desert Elephants survive in areas with less than 150mm.

Things are stacked against their survival. Bulls mate only after they reach 35 years of age and are only in musth for 3 months in a year. Cows can only mate two or three times a year from the age of 12 to 14 years old and are then are pregnant for 22 months. In the region managed by EHRA only one male, Bennie is at breeding age ( 40 years old). Followed closely behind though by Porthos who is 30 years old. Only 5 cows in the herds are sexually mature. Two calves were born in 2022, Hope and Fiori but for the previous nine years babies born had gone on to die in the first 6 months. EHRA do not know the reason for this.

If only they could breed like the proverbial rabbit their future would not be so precarious.