RIGHT: To obtain enough water and seasonal food,
giraffes in the arid northern Namib Desert must
walk much farther than those in more temperate
habitats, covering about 10km a day. However, they
can survive without actually drinking – instead, like
many other species, they rely on the thick fog that
blows up to 50km inland from the coast on more
than 180 days of the year. The giraffes browse
leaves coated with droplets of condensed mistFAR RIGHT: The Namib dwarf sand-adder is an
ambush predator. The venomous snake buries itself
in loose sand with just its eyes peeping above the
surface – and, sometimes, the tip of its tail, which
it may wave as bait to lure its prey closer. The
sand-adder mostly eats small lizards such as the
barking gecko and Aporosaura spp., the latter –
having a relatively high water content – providing an
important source of moistureNATURE