Namib-Naukluft National Park
🇳🇦 Namibia
Southern Africa, Namibia 908 spp. recorded
Namib-Naukluft National Park is a desert reserve stretching across southwestern Namibia, protecting a stark landscape of massive dunes, gravel plains, and coastal lagoons. Unlike tropical parks defined by dense forests, this harsh environment relies on coastal fogs and ephemeral rivers to sustain its specialized wildlife.
-24.065° S 15.102° E
🦜 Nature
326 Species sighted
12,853 Verified sightings From 2019 to 2026
Apr Best month
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
📊 Most Spotted
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
📊 Most Spotted
📊 Most Spotted
🌙 Most active after dark
+ 733 more species with insufficient data
Recent sightings in Namib-Naukluft National Park
LIVEiNaturalistSounds of Namib-Naukluft National Park
Dawn soundscape0:38
Namibia · 2016
© James Lidster · XC358234 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Sighting Calendar
How many species you'd see in a day
29Jan
35Feb
34Mar
38Apr
34May
32Jun
30Jul
32Aug
31Sep
32Oct
30Nov
28Dec
Sighting Zones
Warmer areas are where all species together are recorded most often.
-
Gobabeb Namib Research Institute
Daily sight. prob.vs avg -
Sesriem
Daily sight. prob.vs avg
🏕️ Experience
Essentials
Climate
Temp °C Rain mm
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
0.0 Good
Wallace's Line Score
How good is this park for seeing wildlife? 🦜
Biodiversity
ExcellentHow rich is the wildlife?
5.0
Species by taxon
🦅 Birds 538
🐒 Mammals 175
🦎 Reptiles 178
🐸 Amphibians 17
908 Total Species
828 Global average across 316 parks
48 Threatened 65 Endemic
🔭
Sighting
GoodHow likely to see animals?
2.9
🎯
Top-12 Avg Probability
54% 📊
Coverage (152 species at ≥5% of 908 in the inventory)
17% 🔀
Taxon variety in top 12 (9 bird, 2 mammal, 1 reptile)
54% 🔭
Species per 10 outings (distinct species a visitor would meet over 10 outings — effort held equal across parks)
74 🌟
Iconic-group species (≥15%) (every species from the 19 iconic groups — monkeys, cats, toucans, macaws, sloths, crocodilians… — not just the 4 highlighted above)
11 ⭐
High-prob species (>40%)
16 🏕️
Experience
ExcellentHow easy and pleasant is the visit?
4.7
Climate Pleasant High
Entrance Paid Low
Tourism Medium Medium
Trails Easy High
World Heritage Yes Bonus
What visitors say
On the way back to the pod, we saw oryx, ostrich, and a springbok herd.
We saw elephants, zebras, giraffes, lions, cheetahs, oryx, eland, springbok, ostrich, marabou stork, wildebeest, kudu, red hartebeest and many others.
We also had a wonderful encounter with a Cape fur seal on the beach (see video footage).
We didn’t see the tips of sidewinding adder tails sticking out of the ground (they are nocturnal), but as we climbed the dune, we saw beetle, lizard and hairy-footed gerbil tracks.
Before you go
What animals can you see in Namib-Naukluft National Park?
908 species
Namib-Naukluft National Park has 908 recorded vertebrate species. The ones wildlife watchers report most often on a given day are Cape Sparrow (about 80%), Familiar Chat (about 60%), Pied Crow (about 60%), Gemsbok (about 50%) and Pale-winged Starling (about 50%). Among reptiles, the most-seen is Wedge-snouted Desert Lizard (about 50%); among amphibians, Poynton's River Frog (about 10%).
When is the best time to visit Namib-Naukluft National Park for wildlife?
November
In that month the park's 12 most-seen species average about 70% on a given day, against about 40% in December.
Can you see a Gemsbok in Namib-Naukluft National Park?
Yes
About 50% of wildlife watchers report a Gemsbok sighting in Namib-Naukluft National Park on a given day, based on 252 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is September (about 70%).
Can you see a Namib Sand Gecko in Namib-Naukluft National Park?
Yes
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Namib Sand Gecko sighting in Namib-Naukluft National Park on a given day, based on 80 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is January (about 50%).
Can you see an Afro-Australian Fur Seal in Namib-Naukluft National Park?
Yes
About 20% of wildlife watchers report an Afro-Australian Fur Seal sighting in Namib-Naukluft National Park on a given day, based on 30 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is March and August–October (about 30%).
Can you see a Springbok in Namib-Naukluft National Park?
Yes
About 50% of wildlife watchers report a Springbok sighting in Namib-Naukluft National Park on a given day, based on 183 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is June and December (about 60%).
Where in Namib-Naukluft National Park is wildlife easiest to see?
Around Gobabeb Namib Research Institute
The richest sighting zone is around Gobabeb Namib Research Institute, followed by Sesriem and Sossusvlei, ranked by how many of the park's headline animals visitors can expect to see in each. See the zones on the map.
Is Namib-Naukluft National Park good for wildlife watching?
3.5 out of 5
On the Wallace's Line Score, Namib-Naukluft National Park rates 3.5/5: 211th of 316 parks worldwide and 59th in Africa. 24 of its species are reported by about 40% or more of wildlife watchers on a given day.
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