Your Royal Hyenas
If you spot a hyena while rolling down a Namibian road, suffice to say you’re not in Kansas anymore. That hyena will be spotted – literally – because the Striped Hyena species does NOT live here. With that said, Brown Hyenas and Aardwolves (an insectivorous hyena species) do live in Namibia but Spotted Hyenas are much more common here. Still confused? The silhouetted graphic on the sign is black so, umm, just watch out for hyenas in general while driving here, mmkay? (image via Joachim Huber)
Oryxing of the Species
The Gemsbok or South African Oryx (Oryx gazella) is native to arid regions of Southern Africa; notably, the Namib and Kalahari deserts. The Oryx was chosen as Namibia’s national animal due to its courage, elegance and pride – the national coat of arms features this unmistakable desert dweller. Oryx are so prevalent in Namibia that you will likely spot them alongside the road almost anywhere in the country… and occasionally ON the road. So slow down and honk your horn – as impressive as they are, they can’t honk theirs. (image via Sonse)
Hoof Hearted
Wild horses couldn’t drag you away? Namibia is famous for its feral horses – the only herd of feral horses in Africa, by the way. Several hundred of these hardy “Namib Desert Horses” roam the the Namib-Naukluft Park in southwestern Namibia. The horses may have originated from South African cavalry horses that escaped captivity after a World War I aerial bombing raid. One of the main threats facing these feral horses comes from vehicles traveling by night on roads that cut through their preferred grazing grounds. Slow down, drivers, or should we say: hold your horses! (image via jbdodane)
Bird Dog
Free barking? Do not pass GO and do not collect a $200 speeding ticket if you’re driving down Hwy B8 in far northeastern Namibia. Oh, and avoid getting out of your car should you spy one of these African Wild Dog warning signs: these increasingly rare “painted dogs” travel in large packs and “have been known to attack people if they feel threatened by them.” Hence the warning sign.
African Wild Dogs have the strongest bite of all living canids. On average, an AWD can exert a biting force of 142 pounds per square inch (PSI) – more than twice as powerful as that of a German shepherd. One might say their bite is worse than their bark. This bird is hiding up on top of the sign for a reason. (image via Arthur Chapman)
True Gritty
We’ll presume that roadsides in Greenland and Antarctica have similar signs marked “SNOW”… but we digress. Instead, Namibia has “Sand!” signs – which makes sense, being that the Namib Desert is the oldest desert in the world (roughly 50 to 80 million years old) and the sand’s red color is a coating of iron oxide. Your car won’t rust but it’ll be sandblasted by rust… one way or another, Rust Never Sleeps. (image via Sonse)
You never know who – or what – you’ll meet on the road. Check out Eclectic Avenue: 10 Weird Animal Crossing Signs! 

