. >> reporter: you can see, just baby as the dotusks.is has been called the land god created in anger. a beautifully barren country that looks more like utah or afghanistan than africa. after decades of civil war and grinding poverty, many of this country's wild animals, including rare desert lions and desert elephants who slide down sand dunes on their bums, nearly all were hunted down and eaten. so before, if somebody wanted to kill an elephant or, they just do it? >> yeah, they just do it. >> in the past, if you saw a lion track, you rounded uppal the people in the village, you got on your horses, you hunted that lion down and you shot it on sight. >> reporter: but the attitudes of the people around here changed about ten years ago when the government told namibians, we will let you manage the animals in your area. >> if i go poach something, i'm steaming from my neighborho. and my neighbor doesn't like it. >> looking very smart today. >> reporter: chris weaver from the world wildlife fund, now that locals essentially own all the anim