Today, certain areas of the Kalahari Desert are designated game preserves. In other words, people can shoot the game with cameras, but nothing stronger. In the Kalahari man is the interloper. The beast reigns. The very fact of their survival is amazing, to say the least.
The Beasts
When considering the harshness of the Kalahari Desert, it is truly amazing that any animals survive the conditions. Survival is truly of the fittest, even though by definition, the region is not truly a desert at all. During the rainy season, the area receives anywhere from 5-20 inches of rain. Unfortunately most of it comes at during the time frame of a couple of months. So, it can go from dry as a bone to a big mud hole in disguise. Because the earth becomes so parched during the other times of the year, the rainy season can leave areas of big sink holes that look deceptively dry.
Nevertheless, somehow the animals seem to thrive. During the dry seasons, the lions migrate away from the area, in search of more hospitable conditions. But, many of the animals stick around, and basically become nocturnal. During the day when it is so hot, the hyenas, jackals, and other wild bests of the desert will lie around and rest, in order to conserve energy and their bodily resources. Hunting for food and water comes after the sun goes down.
Unfortunately, even in the night, watering holes will not magically appear to quench thirst. Of course, this is where the truly amazing part of living in the desert of the Kalahari really comes into play. The animals actually live off of the internal bodily fluids of their prey. In other words, their nourishment and hydration come from the same source. But, it really is survival of the fittest, because it is a harsh reality that living in the desert is first come, first served.
In fact, the animals develop a pecking order. The ideal place is to be at the top of the order, because that animal will get the first opportunity to eat. Oftentimes, those animals that end up on the bottom of the pack order will have to move on and fend for themselves, because there will simply be nothing left, after the others have eaten.
Man
Survival of man in the Kalahari is either the bravest or most foolhardy thing to attempt, depending on how you perceive the situation. The conditions are not conducive for sustaining life, unless you have never live anywhere else. You will have to become all things unto yourself. No doctors will come rushing to your aid, if you become sick. If you miscalculate the amount of water and other necessities needed, and you cannot go potentially hundreds of miles to the nearest town, it may be weeks or months before someone arrives to help. Then, it will be too late.
However, the bushmen of the Kalahari have inhabited the desert for thousands of years and seem to have found the secret formula to surviving in the desert. In times of plenty, a group of these people might number 100. However, when facing the harsher seasons, these groups may divide to familial clans of 10 or less.
The bushmen are nomadic. In order to survive, they are constantly moving from place to place. While the men go out to hunt, the women are scrounging for edible plants and searching for anything to improve the odds of survival in the immediate area around camp. When no more resources can be found, the bushmen simply pick up stakes and move on to another spot.
Of course, the natives of the Kalahari are a very pragmatic people. Understanding that resources are limited, they only take what can be used. Everything they own in this world is carried on their person.
The Real Beast of Man
Unfortunately, in an effort to survive in the hostile environment of the Kalahari, the real beast of the desert is man himself. In an effort to make a buck, more people are exploiting the animals, the land, and even the bushmen. In many cases, the people who truly belong to the Kalahari Desert are basically enslaved to do the bidding of people encroaching on one of the last wild and free places on the planet.
Game preserves have been established to protect the wild beasts of the Kalahari. But, there are still those that will exploit the area and the animals to garner a tourist buck. Hotels are cropping up, along with aerial flights over the area. So, the wild animals that have peaceably coexisted with man, and did not even know to be afraid a few decades ago, will now have one more challenge in surviving the Kalahari Desert. So, it begs the question: who is really the beast?