Woosnam's Desert Rat
wildlife of Namibia
Introduction: Richard Bowen Woosnam (1880-1915) was a British soldier, traveller and naturalist. In 1903, after serving in the army during the South African War, he started collecting animals for the British Museum for Natural History and the Zoological Society of London. One such specimen was Woosnam's desert rat (Zelotomys woosnami).
It is an agile climber and occurs on open shrub found on sandy ground, scattered with Acacia, Grewia and Terminilia trees, which they jump from branch to branch using the tail to balance. They live in holes dug under shrubs and trees and sometimes occupy burrows made by gerbils.
Distribution: Semi-arid regions of the Kalahari Desert and savannah woodland areas of north and eastern Namibia, but not beyond the Kunene or Zambezi Rivers.
Diet: Grass seeds and insects.
Colouring: Fine and silky drab grey fur, with black pencilling and plain, paler flanks. Upper surfaces of hands and feet, tail and belly are white.
Breeding: Pups are born from December to March with litters numbering from between 5 and 11. Pink at birth, hair grows by day 6, incisors between 10 and 12 days and ears and eyes open by day 16. Activity by the pups increases from this day.
Size: Total head and body length is 138mm. Tail 115mm. Weight: 57g.
Bagatelle Kalahari Lodge
Excellent lodge in the Kalahari Desert, offers accommodation in units made of straw bales or wood. Bagatelle proves to be consistently popular with guests
Hardap Dam Resort
Really only suitable for fisherman - until renovations happen it is probably best not to subject yourself to this.
Kalahari Anib Lodge
Tends to cater for larger groups, but the low rates make it attractive for those looking to save some money.
Kalahari Red Dunes Lodge
A 12 room lodge situated in a nature reseve and set amongst the red dunes of the Kalahari Desert
Suricate Kalahari Tented Camp
The meerkat or suricate is a small mammal which inhabits the Kalahari - we do not know why this lodge is named after them. Perhaps if you stay here and find out you can tell us and then we can make this slightly more descriptive.
Zebra Kalahari Lodge
The third lodge on the Intu Afrika Kalahari Game Reserve (along with Suricate & Camethorn Lodges). The Kalahari is absolutely magnificent and really should be a part of any visit to Namibia.
