Etosha National Park Warnings and Dangers

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Watching animals becomes exiting and in the process one might forget the dangers accompanying the activity. These are wild animals with reflexes of a lightning sometimes within a couple of meters of your vehicle so precautions should be taken at all times. Taking of pictures is main occupation in Etosha but make sure that you do not share them with the lion and be on the alert and on the window leaver of your car all the time.

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It is very common to see all kinds of animals on the road, so be careful and drive slow. If you are not careful you might crash into some poor animal, and worst, you do not want an elephant crash into you.

when camping, Jackals come out at night and can make a mess of your campsite. be sure to put away any food, paper items or clothes. They will rip them to shreds. They are very persistent animals.

they do not pose a threat to you, they are very small. clap your hands or approach when you see one and they will run away.

Of course many animals couldn't care less about the difference between the road and the bush, they see everywhere as theirs (it actually is!) and sometimes you get to wait for a few minutes for the animals to leasurely cross the road. Well at least it is entertaining, even though near an elephant even a seemingly huge 4WD will seem like a toy - and believe me the thought of an elephant wanting to 'play' is not entertaining at all :-)

But on a more serious note, keep an eye out for the animals whilst driving and strictly adhere to the 60km/h limit. Remember that the roads are gravel so sudden braking will probably just smash you in a tree rather than slowing you down if you are overspeeding. Even worse you may run down one of the wonderful residents of this bush-paradise. Keep in mind that animals may appear out of the blue from amongst the vegetation, especially skittish animals such as springbok and kori bustards. I saw a couple running down a Kori bustard even though they weren't speeding and it was a very distressing experience, for them, for us, and especially the poor bird which was screaming in agony after its leg was horribly broken.

Also remember to give a wide berth to elephants and rhinos which may become agressive if they feel threatened. Never get too close, never approach them too fast and never honk the horn. They can both outrun the vehicle if they decide to charge, so better not mess around. But if you are respectful and careful they will see you as part of their surroundings and will behave very peacefully. Warning signs that an elephant is annoyed is the raising and flapping of the ears whilst looking directly at you - retreat slowly & immediately.

And be very careful ! This might seem obvious but some people sometimes seem to forget that wild animals can be dangerous even if they look nice. Our guide told us enough stories of accident.

On this picture, you can see how close we were from the elephants but luckily, our guide started the car very quickly because this big elephant didn't seem very happy to see us there and began to come in our direction.

There are several reasons why you should not be driving too fast in Etosha:

first: - you will miss all the animals! If you just speed through the area chances are high, you will not see many. It is always better to keep your eyes open, even if you are not at a waterhole.

second: - you could actually hit one animal... not only cars use the roads as easy ways, also some animals do. SO don´t be too surprised when you come round a curve and get at two fighting zebras (as in the picture).

three: - the roads here are also gravel. If you really drive too fast, you will roll off the road... And then wait until someone comes to pick you out... who is first? the lion or the park ranger? :-)

On my second day in Etosha my tour group and I nearly got hit by a speeding truck full of locals who work in the park. They were on their way home and were in a hurry. They ended up flipping over and spilling their passangers all over the ground. Luckly no one got hurt, but it could have well been an aweful scene. Drive slowly on this dirt roads, and obey the speed limits. It is very easy to lose control on this dirt roads at high speeds.

In all of the rest camps jackals are on the prowl looking for an easy meal. This is not you of course but your food. They will go through your packs and tents etc. Rabid Jackals are a problem too and you do not want to give these creature any reason to approach you or your gear.

Watch your gear and keep it secured in a closed tent when not being watched.