A photographer traveled to Namibia to capture well-camouflaged snakes that live exclusively in the sub-Saharan African country.

Peringuey’s viper

Marisa Ishimatsu captured magnificent photographs of a Peringuey’s viper that is perfectly adapted to hiding in the soft sands of the Namibian desert.

“They move effortlessly sideways along the dune slopes and bury themselves in the soft sand at the foot of bushes, both to ambush lizards and to protect themselves from predation,” Ishimatsu tells   PetaPixel  .

“They have eyes on the top of their head and reinforced nostrils on the top of their nose, so that when they are completely buried, they can still see and breathe.”

Ishimatsu travelled with a group from Europe and the United States who wanted to find all the species of dwarf vipers that inhabit Namibia. There are six species of vipers in the country.

“Like my friend, I spend most of my holidays searching for snakes and other wildlife around the world, so looking for these animals in Namibia seemed like an excellent experience,” she says.

The crew hired Dayne Braine of The Naturalist Collection, who helped them find the elusive snakes.

“With Dayne’s help and knowledge, we found all six species of viper and accomplished exactly what we set out to do,” Ishimatsu says.

“From a photographic point of view, I don’t think I was able to capture everything I wanted to in Namibia, but I’m incredibly proud of the images I captured.”

The photographer used her Nikon D850 to capture amazing images of not only the Peringuey viper, but also other vipers.

“The trip was amazing. Namibia is a beautiful country and I took pictures of everything from plants to invertebrates, snakes and the charismatic megafauna,” Ishimatsu adds.