Oryx

Backblip #16

Etosha National Park! A veritable smorgasboard of wildlife! It is the end of dry season and Namibia is also currently in the gripsof a very long drought thus all the animals are hanging out at the park's permanent waterholes.

It was near impossible to decide on what to blip today so I went with the stunning oryx (gemsbok), Namibia's national animal. These antelope are superbly adapted to arid areas that are uninhabitable to most other antelope. It obtains enough water from its food to survive and does not need to drink. It can also raise its body temperature to extreme levels that would kill other animals in order to survive the heat and the black markings on its face help to cool the blood vessels flowing to the brain.

A pretty awesome animal!

Day 3 - Total distance travelled - 984km.