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Beautiful People of the Namib

"No matter how harsh or inhospitable a place is, there's always someone who's willing to live there" - of Africa's Namib Desert on Animals are Beautiful People

It's a 90-minute nature documentary that my five-year old loves to watch repeatedly. As I work around while the kiddo focuses on the entertainment, I pick up snippets of Jamie Uys's hilarious narration, ie. "the chameleon may be the only creature whose left eye doesn't know what his right eye is doing." There are interesting bird names such as Go-away and Secretary. See which of these 13 (from the more than thirteen featured) animals you remember or like from this 1974 film:

1. Oryx, 'the most beautiful of all antelopes, always manages to look sleek and well-fed. Perhaps because man finds the Namib so intimidating he hardly ever ventures there. But to the Oryx the hostile desert is paradise'
Wikipedia photo

2. Meerkat
Wikipedia photo


3. Weaver bird, 'the condominiums they build come with a variety of architectural styles'

Charles J Sharp


4. Kudu Wikipedia photo

5. Dikkop, 'spends 95% of his life looking like a stuffed bird because he stands very still and never blinks'
Wikipedia photo


6.Gemsbok Wikipedia photo


7. Warthog, 'so ugly he's beautiful'
Wikipedia photo

8. Turaco
Wikipedia photo


9. Anteater, 'a tired medieval knight in armor'

Wikipedia photo


10. Impala Wikipedia photo


11. Hyena, 'the trash collector who lives off leftovers of lions'

Wikipedia photo

12. Ratel (Honey Badger)
Wikipedia photo

13. Jacana
Wikipedia photo

~ header from Samulli / click here for more T13 ~
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Comments

Anya said…
Lovely post Hazel :)
I love always wild animals,
I love it to go to the zoo
( Its the only way I can see those animals .... ;)
24 September 2009 at 13:57
Americanising Desi said…
OMG I love it!
I love the wild side :D I should have been part of them but ok He made me human :D

TERRIFIC T13
24 September 2009 at 23:34
Kaytee said…
Great list! That Turaco bird is gorgeous!
25 September 2009 at 00:30
The Bumbles said…
Wow - I've never seen or heard of a Turaco. What a beauty! And that sounds like an awesome film to entertain and educate young and old.
25 September 2009 at 01:21
Anonymous said…
What a wonderful post my friend. I just love this. Thanks so much for sharing this :)
25 September 2009 at 01:27
Calico Crazy said…
I bet my daughter would love this. We have meerkats, warthogs, and anteaters in our local zoo.

Calico Contemplations
25 September 2009 at 02:54
Grandmother Wren said…
Your first picture made me smile.
Years ago when I was working in an infant/toddler care center, one of the toddlers held a plastic jungle animal from our collection and asked "what's this one?"

The words "it's an oryx" flew out of my mouth, surprising me as much as my co-workers.
To this day I have no idea where I came upon the ability to identify an oryx!
25 September 2009 at 21:50
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