OKAUKUEJO LIVE STREAM

Gnu / Blue Wildebeest

The Blue Wildebeest or Gnu (Connochaetes taurinus) is one of two species of Wildebeest and stands tall at 1.4 meters at the shoulders and 2.4 meters long from head to tail. At 200kg, both male and female have curving horns. It has a grey coat, black mane and black beard.

Black Backed Jackal

The Black-backed Jackal (Canis mesomelas) is a medium sized and dog-looking, with black fur that is sprinkled with white fur on its back which is wider at the neck and shoulders and thins out towards the tail. Almost like a saddle. It has white fur around the lips and down the throat and chest.

Oryx

Gemsbok (Oryx gazella) is the common name for the most well known and largest of the 3 oryx species. Their coat is a light brown/grey color and the top of their legs are black. They have a dark strip extending from their chin, down their neck and also along their shoulder joints. The face has black and white facial markings, which makes them easily identifiable.

Cheetah

The Cheetah’s (Acinonyx jubatus) slim body, long legs, small tail and long tail is built for speed and they can reach a speed of 120km/h. The body is covered in black spots with the last third of the tail having black rings. A distinguishing marker are the “tear tracks” that run from the corner of the eye past the side of its mouth.

Leopard

Leopards (Panthera pardus) are solitary animals, except during the mating season or when females are accompanied by juveniles. They are primarily nocturnal creatures but have been seen in the daytime, particularly in national parks and in remote area. As they are very secretive animals, making contact is difficult. Approaching luxury tented campsites they can be recognised by their repeated hoarse rasping cough.

Spotted Hyena

Although hyena have a reputation of being scavengers, they are very efficient hunters with very powerful jaws. This is perhaps best appreciated when an individual is seen running from a kill carrying the hind leg of a wildebeest or other heavy section of a carcass, high off the ground. Adult hyenas can run at speeds of up to 60km/hr. Female hyena are larger than males and clans of hyena are led by dominant females.

Kudu

The greater kudu (Tragelaphus strepsiceros) is found throughout central & northern Namibia and is the second tallest antelope on the African continent. Kudu bulls bear long, spiral horns which reach record lengths of up to 1.8m. Horns grow to their full length at the age of six years. Kudu live in small herds not usually larger than twelve, comprising of females and their young. During the breeding season, the herds are occasionally joined by the normally solitary males.

Giraffe

(Giraffa camelopardalis angolensis)

Being the world’s tallest animal, one cannot misidentify a Giraffe. Standing at up to 6 meters tall, these long-legged beauties are able to reach leaves no other animal can reach. Recently, studies have shown that there are 4 species of Giraffe in Africa.

Warthog

The warthog is an African pig with large curved tusks protruding from its huge flattened head, one set from both upper and lower jaws. It gets it name from the gristly warts that protrude from the sides of its face. Boars have two pairs, sows only one. It is not known for certain what purpose the warts serve. One explanation is that they are used as a weapon, or, alternatively, as a defence in fending off blows from other warthogs.

Springbok

The Springbok (Antidorcas marsupialis) can reach a top speed of up to 88km/h, putting it on the list of the top ten fastest land animals. Its speed allows it to outrun (most of the time) any predator. However, the Springbok is not only known for its speed, but especially for its unique method of jumping up to 4 meters into the air.

Common Impala

Impala (Aepyceros melampus) favour woodlands, sheltering an undergrowth of grass or shrubs. They are seldom far away from water, hence their Namibian distribution patterns. They are very common in their range and a characteristic of impala is the attendance of red-billed oxpeckers busily cleaning and generally keeping impala free from ectoparasites, although they do self-groom with their lower incisors to remove ticks.

Black-Faced Impala

The black-faced impala (Aepyceros melampus petersi) is a sub-spieces of the common impala originally from the north west of Namibia, introduced to Etosha National Park in the 1970's. They are darker than other impala and are so called due to their characteristic black face. They are gregarious creatures and occur in small herds of between 3 and 15 and in larger herds during the lambing season. Solitary males team up with harems of females and their offspring.

Burchell’s Plains Zebra

Burchell's zebra (Equus burchelli) is a horse-like herbivore which was named after the well-known traveller and naturalist, W.J. Burchell. They inhabit savannah, from treeless grasslands to open woodlands. Zebras stay in family groups of a stallion, or male and several mares, but different families will come together in huge herds of hundreds of zebras. They are distinguished from Hartmann's mountain zebra by:

1. The yellowish or greyish shadow stripes between the black on the hind quarters.

2. The lack of 'gridiron' pattern on the top of the hind quarters.

3. The absence of dewlap (the loose fold of skin hanging under the throat) .

Each zebra has an individual stripe pattern and with no two being alike. Herds will mingle with wildebeests, ostriches and antelope while they graze and even come to depend on them as additional protection against predators!

Brown Hyena

The brown hyena (Hyaena brunnea) is the mammal famous for its weird howl, which resembles a hysterical human laugh. The name is descriptive of their general dark brown colour. It has a typical hyena profile of appearing higher at the shoulders than at the rump. It has a massive head, neck and shoulders, the extra weight being borne by larger fore feet than the hind. They have powerful jaws and strong teeth that enable them to crush and eat even large bones. They are poor killers, confining their kill to small prey - even occasional attempts at springbok are generally unsuccessful. It is highly unlikely that they could tackle prey the size of kudu, waterbuck or zebra. Individuals are known to kill sheep, goats and calves.