During a four week period from in 1983, 45 sets of pooled water and soil samples were collected from the circumferences of 12 gravel pits, 16 natural fountains and 3 natural pans in the Etosha National Park. The gravel pits and naturaI pans all lay in a broadly defined "anthrax enzootic" region. Keywords: B. cereus, B. megaterium, B. polymyxa, B. subtilis, Bacillus anthacis, Characteristic conditions, Field bacteriology, Incubator areas for spordation, Polymyxin-lysozyme-EDTA-thallous acetate (PLET) agar, Pooled water samples, Serological studies, vegetative celIs.