Skip to main content

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 ~

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 .... ;)
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
Kaytee said…
Great list! That Turaco bird is gorgeous!
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.
Anonymous said…
What a wonderful post my friend. I just love this. Thanks so much for sharing this :)
Calico Crazy said…
I bet my daughter would love this. We have meerkats, warthogs, and anteaters in our local zoo.

Calico Contemplations
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!

Popular posts from this blog

The Hunchback of Abella

A Duet When I was about 8 years old, I sang Something's Happened to Daddy in church. My father was not a church-goer so the guy I sang with was my mother's friend's husband. Papa keeps coming to my mind these days. January is the month he was felled by a massive coronary. Next week on the 14th is the anniversary of his death. The only times he ever set foot in church were during weddings and funerals of family and friends. I remember him being present in church eagerly when I was a flower girl at an aunt's wedding. Finally he entered church one more time. At his own funeral. I made sure church was the very place he went to before the cemetery. I only wished he was the one I sang with. Amy hosts head over to Signs, Miracles and Wonders for more music or to join ************************************ Guns n' Roses and the Hunchback of Abella My childhood was what can most likely be called normal. There was a balance of happy and sad memories. Today's

Sense and Sensibility: 200th anniversary

In 1811 Thomas Egerton of Whitehall, London published Sense and Sensibility . Quick math shows it has been two centuries since Jane Austen became a full-fledged author. Quite an anniversary, indeed. A celebration, I declare . Blogs regarding the publication anniversary of this romance novel picture Jane Austen 's engagements whilst making the final touches of her manuscript from Sloane Street. In letters to her sister Cassandra, Jane gave accounts of her shopping for muslin, the party that their brother Henry and SIL Eliza gave; mentioned several acquaintances, and referred to her book as S and S . As a fan I wonder which between sense and sensibility did JA deem more important since she portrayed both attributes equally well. I'm obliged to enthuse over my S & S reading experience. Alas, I only managed fourteen chapters before getting sidetracked by another novel, the very first that JA wrote. I will resume and complete my affair with the celebrant before 2011 end

Thirteen 13-word Quotes

1. I may be wrong , but I have never found deserting friends conciliates enemies. Margot Asquith , British Political Hostess (1864-1945) 2. Man's love is of man's life a thing apart; Girls aren't like that Kingsley Amis , English novelist and poet (1922-1995) "A Book Idyll" ~ see possible origin, also a 13- word quote: M an's love is of man's life a thing apart, 'Tis woman's whole existence Lord Byron (1788-1824) 3. An autobiography is an obituary in serial form with the last instalment missing. Quentin Crisp , English writer The Naked Civil Servant (1968) 4. Happy the hare at morning for she cannot read the hunter's waking thoughts. W.H. Auden , English poet (1907-73) Dog Beneath the Skin 5. Kissenger brought peace to Vietnam the same way Napoleon brought peace to Europe. (by losing) Joseph Heller, American novelist (1923- ) 6. Guns aren't lawful; Nooses give; Gas smells awful; You might as well live. Dorothy Parker ,