Desert Elephants of Damaraland: Where and When to See Them

The elephants of Kunene and Damaraland are entirely ordinary African elephants (Loxodonta africana) genetically — it's their habits, passed down over generations, that differ sharply from their relatives in Etosha or the Zambezi Region. They cover far longer distances between water points, know how to dig into the sandy beds of dry riverbeds to reach groundwater, and adapt their diet to the region's scarce plant resources.

A study by Keith Leggett, published in 2006 in African Zoology, tracked eight GPS-collared elephants in the Kunene region and showed that their home ranges contract sharply during the dry seasons — when they concentrate near the beds of the Hoanib and Hoarusib rivers — before expanding widely during the rainy season, when vegetation becomes available further from the watercourses (study available via Google Scholar).

More recent work confirms and refines this picture: a study by Benitez and co-authors, published in 2022 in the journal Ecology and Evolution, shows that the home range size of these elephants depends directly on rainfall, vegetation productivity and human pressure in northern Namibia — a useful lens for understanding why their presence varies so much from one season to the next.

Three watercourses account for most sightings: the Huab River, the most accessible from Twyfelfontein and central Damaraland; the Hoanib, further north, known for herds that sometimes wander as far as the Skeleton Coast; and the Hoarusib, even more remote, in Kaokoland. These rivers are dry at the surface for most of the year — the water flows beneath the sand, which is exactly why the elephants stay in these corridors even at the height of the dry season.

From roughly May to October, the scarcity of surface water keeps elephants close to the main rivers, which sharply improves the odds for a traveller following the same tracks. During the rainy season (December to March), herds scatter over a much wider area and become far harder to locate without a local guide who's kept up with their latest movements.

Unlike classic parks such as Etosha, the tracks along the Kunene rivers are neither signposted nor maintained to the same standard: deep sand, almost no phone signal, and long distances between villages. Venturing alone into these riverbeds in a poorly prepared vehicle — without sand-driving experience — risks getting bogged down far from any help.

Most travellers who genuinely want to see these elephants go through a local guide based in Twyfelfontein, Palmwag or Sesfontein, who knows the herds' latest movements and where to stop without disturbing them. For a simple self-drive pass through the region, it's better to focus on Damaraland's accessible sites (the Twyfelfontein rock engravings, the Petrified Forest, Organ Pipes) and leave the elephant tracking to a guided half-day excursion.

A desert elephant herd is still a herd of wild elephants: never sound your horn, never manoeuvre to get closer, cut the engine if an animal crosses the track ahead of you, and keep a distance of at least several dozen metres at all times — more still if calves are present, since protecting a calf makes females especially reactive.