Temporal Changes in Livestock Numbers and Patterns of Transhumance in Southern Darfur,

Sudan
Author(s): R. T. Wilson
Source: The Journal of Developing Areas, Vol. 11, No. 4 (Jul., 1977), pp. 493-508
Published by: College of Business, Tennessee State University
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4190506
Accessed: 01/12/2010 05:35

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless
you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you
may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use.

Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at
http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=cbtsu.

Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printed
page of such transmission.

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of
content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms
of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

College of Business, Tennessee State University is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend
access to The Journal of Developing Areas.

http://www.jstor.org
 The Journal of Developing Areaa 11 (July 1977): 493.508

Temporal Changes in Livestock Numbers

and Patterns of Transhumance in
Southern Darfur, Sudan

R. T. WILSON

The present century has seen an unprecedented increase in the world's

human population, particularly in the developing areas of the Third World.
Concurrently, livestock numbers have multiplied, probably nowhere more
so than in Africa. The increase in both human and livestock populations can,
in general, be attributed to improved health services and control of epi-
demic diseases. In many areas overpopulation and overstocking have ap-
parently reached a level at which the natural resources of the area are no
longer capable of sustaining both man and animals.
An opinion often voiced is that pastoralists and cultivators in Africa main-
tain excessive numbers of stock for cultural or prestige reasons; that many
of the animals retained are unproductive; and that perverse responses to
supply and demand are the norm.' This supposedly irrational behavior is
presumed to have resulted in denudation of vast areas due to overstocking.
An alternative hypothesis of rational behavior is based on the assumption
that a minimum number of animals is needed to support one human in terms
of provision of meat, milk, and a cash surplus with which to buy other
necessities.2 In this latter case, as human populations increase, the numbers
Livestock and Range Specialist with Hunting Technical Services, Limited, Elstree
Way, Boreham Wood, Herts., U.K. This article is based on fieldwork carried out by the
author during 1972-74. Thanks are due to Hunting Technical Services, the British
Ministry of Overseas Development, and the Minister of State for Agriculture, Animal
Husbandry, and Natural Resources, Sudan, for permission to publish this paper.
' For an analysis of perverse supply see Abdallah H. Khalifa and Morag C. Simpson,
"PerverseSupply in Nomadic Societies," Oxford Agrarian Studies N.S. 1 (1972): 45-56.
2 The actual number of animals
required will depend on a number of factors. It has
been suggested that 6.2 livestock units are the minimum needed to maintain one human;
see William Allan, The African Husbandman (Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd, 1965), p.
307. A lower figure has been suggested by Leslie H. Brown, "The Biology of Pastoral
Man as a Factor in Conservation,"Biological Conservation3 (January 1971): 93-100. A
livestock unit is usually taken as the equivalent of one breeding cow but may be made
up of various combinations of mature and growing animals of the different species of
domestic stock.
494 R. T. Wilson

of animals must increase proportionately. Once the ratio of animals to man

falls below this limit then true pastoralism ceases to be viable.
Various strategies, including transhumance and different combinations
of grazing and browsing animals, have been adopted by pastoralists to
maintain their way of life.3 As the ability of the land to support livestock
is not infinite, increasing human populations will lead to reliance for life
support on agriculture and industry or on combinations of animal hus-
bandry, farming, and industrial employment.
The Location and Environment of Southern Darfur
The part of Southern Darfur with which this paper is concerned lies
principally within 24?00' and 25030' east longitude and 10?00' and 12?00'
north latitude. It forms part of a much larger zone of Sudanian savanna
extending from the Niger in the West to the Nile in the East. The loca-
tion of the area in relation to northeast Africa as a whole, and the main
physical features of the area itself, are shown in figure 1.
A full description of topography, climate, soils, and vegetation can be
found elsewhere; only brief particulars are given here.4 The area is gen-
erally a level to gently undulating pedeplain covered by varying depths of
aeolian and alluvial deposits, which has been classified into four major land
systems each with recurring patterns of geomorphology, geology, soils,
and vegetation (figure 1).
On the Basement land system the soils are predominantly residual,
shallow, and infertile clay loams or sandy clays. The vegetation comprises
mainly Acacia mellifera and A. nubica thorn scrub with scattered annual
grasses. The sand dunes of the southern and northeastern areas are of
aeolian origin, now fixed; throughout the Sudan this type of area is known
as Qoz. Two vegetation associations predominate: Combretum glutinosum/
Sclerocarya birrea and Terminalia/AnogeissusIProsopis africana, the latter
on mixed aeolian residual soils.
The Alluvial system is characterized by alternating areas of sandy clay
loam, known locally as naga'a, and slightly higher areas of lighter soils
known as atmur. Acacia senegal (gum arabic) and A. seyallBalanites
aegyptiaca associations are the most important vegetation, with perennial
grasses predominating over annuals. The Bahr is a narrow strip along the
present channel and old meander complex of the seasonal Bahr el 'Arab.
Alluvial soils of high clay content, known locally as buta, and subject to
seasonal flooding, are the most common. Tall perennial grasses form the
bulk of the grazing, the main vegetative associations being those found on
similar soils in the other land systems.

3 Migration itself may increase the number of anim-ialsby the requirementsfor trans-
port. For a general discussion of the relationship between pastoralists and their en-
vironment see Laurence Krader, "The Ecology of Nomadic Pastoralism"International
Social Science Journal 11 (1959): 499-510. See also Brown, "The Biology of Pastoral
Man"; William Irons and Neville Dyson-Hudson, Perspectives on Nomadism (Leiden:
E. J. Brill, 1972); and The Nature of Nomadism, ResearchPaper no. 118 (Chicago: Uni-
versity of Chicago, Department of Geography, 1969).
' For example, in R. Trevor Wilson and Stanley E. Clarke, "Studies on the Livestock
of Southern Darfur, Sudan. 1: The Ecology and Livestock Resources of the Area,"
Tropical Animal Health and Production 7 (August 1975): 165-87.
 Temporal Chanpes in Livestock Numbers 495

........... .... .. ? .. , .. .....................a /9@

-m \ / -A! A | / \ B | ~~~~~~Chod
SUDANd
......... . .... .. .Z. ..... .. ., ........\\ro Itioz

7-7 B AS E MENT \2Zr Kno

-\ \ *- + - - \ *t * - i * * ;K:::: :
* _Dra inage
..,\ .... . ... .' .. . . . ,: ..-.....
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.... . . . .. -~........Tok
\yg-:: T a k
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.
......................... ....
... .. .........yGm*'
.:.../ .... Ghnam..........:--- RaId
....... .. ...... i 4. o.... r

Roinfoll
..........
<' ~ ~ " ~ ~.,m"""""'
~~........... ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ..'' ' '1 1 isohyet (mm)|

... ......... 0S Q Z Land System

.... ' ... .. .... ,.' '
. .-'.'..
~~~~~... . . ........
........ _ . . . .. . . . . . . _._.
.^K

~~~~~~~~~~~~. ..... ........

. .....
~~~~~~~~~~. ..... .._,;_.._
W
~~~~~~...... ...... ....... 20. km $ ?
........ .....
~~~~~..................... .s..,4?
s \~~~.... ......
~~~~~~~~~~....................
................ >.t\................. I....
.... .... .... .... ...

............................................
"-----------------------::-::::-::::::::. ................... . . .. ...... ......_
. ..................... . . .. . . ................. .. .. .. . ..... ...
~~~~~~~~~~~.. ...........................................
-.... ^-................................... ......
X ~ ~ ~
o. . ...... .
....................................
:::::::::::::::.:.:...:.:.................:.:.:.:.::.:.:.:.:::.::.:..::.
............................
:::::--:::::-:-:::-.::-::::-:.::.:. ....... .........................
....................
::: :::::::::.::::- ::::.:::.::: : ..::............:...... ... ..... :::,tE
-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
... 1.......
B8 g
:::- :: -::--:::.:: ::--: :::- .::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::::......:::::::::................::::::::::at
.:.::..::..::..:::..::..::..::..::..::..::...::..::..::..::.:..::..:.,.
t
:-:::-::.-::.-::.-::-.:--.-::--::-. ::. -::--:.
... .. ..
.....::::..
... ...:.:: .: .:.:.::::::::::... ::::::-*----
.:.:.:.:.::..........................
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::.:::
....
@:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::............::....... ::::::
................... :::::::::......
...::: ....
. .. . .......-..::.---::::---:::---:.:----:::-::::::::::::::::::::::::::::---::::--:::-::::::--:
:. ::::E .
N;::::::::::::::::::::. ::::::::::::::::: :::::::::::::::::::::::::: ..
,:::::: : : : :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
::::::::::::::::::-;:2::::::::::- * ::::::::::--::-::-.:-.::-: :':::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: E......
E
.::.-:--::-:: -:::: .:: .::::::::: .:::::::: ::::: .:-: ....
:-.:::::..
........... v. :::::...................::::::::::::::::: .. . . . . . .
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::;;,:::::::::::::::::::::.,.
::-: e . ....
::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :: :- :S :: :: :: : :-:.-:::::::::::::.:...lrl
:........
........ Fig.. Th.oainadEvio
....... nn fSu r .......
Climatically.. ..e
....... .........aaceizdbyasor ntne an
season... logdysasn...al
........... nrae ......fo ot o ot,wt
........... .................
inras.m.at. owet.(Te.shyt.fr192ar.upr
imposed on figure)... aa.t 70mm
Logtr.veaerifllfrN h ot
of th are, pror t 1970was per......ith.bout70.prcen
496 R. T. Wilson

of this amount falling in July and August. During a similar period of 30

years, Radom, in the South, averaged 800mm. Since 1970 annual averages
have been lower by about 10 percent. Mean average maximum temperatures
of 34?C and average minimum temperatures of 20'C have been recorded at
Nyala.
The Human Population
The population density of the area as a whole was estimated to be about
6.5 per km2 in 1973. Ethnographically the people are basically of two types:
the indigenous tribes, of non-Arab descent; and the immigrant Arabs and
their descendants and adherents.5 The main indigenous tribes are Fur,
Gimr, Turgam, Masalat and Daju. These tribes are mainly composed of
sedentary cultivators who live on the Basement areas. Many, however, are
Arab in outlook, having adopted Islam and owning considerable numbers
of livestock. The Arab tribes, in probable order of numerical importance,
are Habbaniya, Beni Halba, Ta'aisha, and Rizayqat. These people, along
with others of similar descent and culture, are collectively known as Bag-
gara, from the Arabic word for cattle. In addition there are large numbers
of recent immigrants from the West, known as Fellata. These are of diverse
origin but many are Fulani from the Niger area. The longest settled of these
immigrants are often indistinguishable from the indigenous and Arab popu-
lations.
Livestock Numbers and Movements
From Early Times to about 1880. Little is known of the early distribution
and numbers of livestock in this area; references are often vague, numbers
obviously unrealistic, and the problems associated with chronology acute.
That domestic animals, particularly cattle, have been in or through the area
for thousands of years is indisputable. There are still remnants of ancient
shorthorn cattle in the Nuba mountains to the southeast and there is some
evidence that they survived on Jebel Marra to the northwest until rela-
tively recently. It is possible that these cattle are descended from the
humpless shorthorn, Bos brachyceros, of West Africa.6 These shorthorns are
resistant to trypanosomiasis, which accounts for their survival in small
pockets of tsetse fly infested areas. Humped zebu cattle, Bos indicus, prob-
ably did not reach Africa until about the fourth century A.D. Entry into
Africa was probably across the Bab el Mandeb at the southern end of the

5 The descent of these Arabs and their followers is dealt with comprehensively in
Gustav Nachtigal, Sahara and Sudan. 4: Wadai and Darfur, trans. A. G. B. Fisher and
H. J. Fisher (Berkeley: University of Califomia Press, 1971) and also in Ian C. Cunni-
son, Baggara Arabs (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1966).
6 Centers of origin of domestic cattle have been proposed for several laces including
Mesopotamia. Migration westwards through Arabia or Anatolia and along the North
African coast would then account for cattle in West Africa approximately4,000 years
ago. Subsequent southerly and easterly migration through the Sahel and Sudan zones
would then present few difficulties.An account of early migrations and the relationships
of the various cattle types is given in William J. A. Payne, Cattle Production in the
Tropics, vol. 1 (London: Longmans, 1972), ch. 1. A treatise on the descent and rela-
tionship of all domestic animals is Helmut Epstein, The Origin of the Domestic Animals
of Africa (New York: Africana Publishing, 1971).
 Temporal Changes In Livestock Numbers 497

Red Sea, the animals and their herders subsequently spreading westward
along the savanna zone.7
There is evidence in Dar Tama, to the north, and in Kordofan, to the
east, that comparatively sedentary people from the West were settled there
2,000 years ago, and it is not unrealistic to suppose that these people and
their animals would also be settled in parts of Darfur. The first written
references to the presence of cattle are in the Kitab Dali, which quotes
instances of cattle being used in payment for fines in the fifteenth century.8
The numbers of cattle probably increased considerably about 200 years
ago when the present Baggara tribes moved into the area.9 The cattle
could be expected to be accompanied by small numbers of sheep, goats,
and donkeys and a considerable number of horses.
By about the third decade of the nineteenth century the Baggara were
well established in the approximate areas of their present homelands. The
area was nominally under the control of the indigenous sultan of Darfur.
He expected, and occasionally extracted, large tribute in the form of cattle
from the Arabs, who, in turn, resisted such impositions.'0 About this time
the Rizayqat were attacked by an agent of the sultan, one El-Aziz, be-
cause they had stolen a horse. Although 20 horses and saddles were offered
in compensation, the attack was pressed home and a large booty of cattle
was taken; the Rizayqat retreated to the marshes in the South, but the
cattle were recovered in a counterraid at night."
Four years after the first incident, 1,200 cattle were captured from the
Rizayqat and Habbaniya. Two years later 4,000 cattle were taken, and
1,000 men were lost. It was said that the Habbaniya could put up to 700
horsemen in the field and the Ta'aisha 1,000, numbers which they would
probably be incapable of achieving today, and there are several references
to numbers of horsemen in the region of 12,000 to 15,000.12 While such
numbers can at best be regarded as approximations and at worst as gross
exaggerations, they serve to show that by the mid to late nineteenth century
domestic livestock were of considerable importance in Darfur.
7 Helmut Epstein, "Studies on the Relationship between the Cattle Breeds in Africa,
Asia and Europe," World Review of Animal Production 7 (1972): 25-32.
8 Dali was a sultan of the area; kitab is the Arabic word for book. This reference is
from Nachtigal, Sahara and Sudan.
9 It has not been possible to trace any direct references to the occupation of Darfur
by Arabs, but there is evidence that the Humr and Messiria of southwest Kordofan and
southeast Darfur moved there from Wadai, in what is now the Republic of Chad, be-
tween 1775 and 1795; see G. D. Lampen, "The Baggara Tribes of Darfur," Sudan Notes
and Records 16 (1933): 97-118, and K. D. D. Henderson, "A Note on the Migration
of the Messiria Tribe into South-west Kordofan,"Sudan Notes and Records 22 (1939):
49-75.
" It is unlikely that the number of animals demanded or exacted as tribute can be
used to calculate the total number of animals present at any one time, even if the number
exacted as tribute could be determined. Although tribute was assessed in terms of cattle,
the amount to be paid was determined arbitrarily, and paid reluctantly, if at all; and
other commodities, notably ivory and ostrich feathers, were often substituted in part.
11This incident and the following ones, together with the numbers quoted, are taken
from Nachtigal, Sahara and Sudan.
12 In January 1974 there were no more than 500 mounted men at a large gathering of
the tribes to welcome the President of the Sudan to Nyala.
498 R. T. Wilson

Much of the area would still be unoccupied, or sparsely so, and wild
game would be present in large numbers, particularly in areas subject to
periodic tsetse invasion. While various species of antelope could be ex-
pected to predominate, there would also be large numbers of elephant.
From 1880 to 1947. If the early and middle years of the nineteenth cen-
tury had been times of uncertainty for the Baggara, the last two decades
were to prove disastrous for their flocks and herds. The early toll on their
livestock as a result of tribute, intertribal raiding, and the normal course
of nature could have been as nothing compared with what followed.
After the accession of the Mahdi, fighting between the Mahdist forces
and those of the Sultan caused havoc in Darfur. On the death of the Mahdi,
Abd Allahi, a chief of the Ta'aisha, succeeded as Khalifa in 1885. The ma-
jority of the Ta'aisha immediately followed him to Omdurman, as did
many members of other tribes, leaving their herds to fend for themselves.
The Beni Halba also lost many animals during the Mahdiya and were
afterwards so oppressed by Ali Dinar that many of them emigrated from
Darfur.13
During the late 1880s and early 1890s the worst rinderpest pandemic
ever known was raging over a wide area.14 It is probably from this period
that sheep and goats (which are less susceptible to rinderpest than cattle,
require less management, and are quicker to recover in numbers due to
their shorter generation cycle) began to assume more importance to the
Baggara. The presence of large marauding armies also reduced game num-
bers, not only by direct slaughter, but also by the general disturbance
created causing them to migrate.
After the fall of the Mahdiya, the Baggara drifted back to Darfur and
began the task of rebuilding their depleted herds. This could lhave been
achieved, not only by careful herding and breeding for natural increase, but
also by purchase of stock.'5 Until 1916 the livestock owners were still
nominally under the control of the Sultan and subjected to occasional
levying of tribute, although the Sultan had problems of his own with the
Khartoum government. After the deposition and death of the Sultan, Darfur
was incorporated into the Sudan under Condominium rule. Law and order

' The Beni Halba had their homeland closest to El Fasher, the seat of the Sultan.
Their migration pattern also d.fers from that of other tribes, in that they trek north-
wards during the dry season. These factors made them particularly vulnerable to raids
by the Sultan. For a general account of conditions at this time, see A. B. Theobold, Ali
Dinar, Last Sultan of Darfur, 1898-1916 (London: Longmans, 1965).
14
Rinderpestwas first reported after the reconquest in eastern Sudan, under the name
Bovine Typhus, in January 1899, but had occurred in Suakin on the Red Sea coast in
1889 and had been known in Massawa in Eritrea as early as 1882. By 1908 it was
widespread in western Kordofan and in May 1909, 29 out of 170 head of cattle sent to
the Sudan as tribute by the Sultan were sick, and by December 1909 it was rife in
Darfur. The previous notes were extracted from the "Sudan Intelligence Reports"of the
military government in Khartoum.For a general account of the early spread of rinderpest
in Africa see Frederick D. Lugard, The Rise of Our East African Empire (Edinburgh,
1893).
1' The Humr, in southwest Kordofan, restocked by hunting elephants and selling the
ivory to traders who brought cattle for the express purpose of ivory purchase: Ian G.
Cunriison,"The Social Role of Cattle," Sudan Journalof VeterinaryScience and Animal
Husbandry 1 (1960): 8-25.
 Temporal Changes In Livestock Numbers 499

of a more rational kind was introduced, intertribal raiding decreased, and

tribute was replaced by an animal poll tax. All the conditions for an ex-
plosion in the livestock population, with the possible exception of adequate
veterinary facilities, were present.
Buildup in numbers was slow at first, with the limited veterinary interest
centered on riding and pack animals, at this time camels and some horses.
Disease control was confined to quarantine attempts for rinderpest and
contagious bovine pleuropneumonia. Although antirinderpest serum became
available in the mid 1920s the Baggara were reluctant to have their animals
treated because postvaccination deaths were fairly common. In 1935 tissue-
culture vaccine was introduced; this vaccine induces a much milder reaction
than other types, and the risk associated with its use is minimal.", Al-
though the nominal immunity claimed was only 24 months, the cattle
owners quickly discovered that, during the period of waning immunity, ex-
posure to wild strains of rinderpest caused a mild infection and that re-
covery from this caused permanent immunity.17 The last hurdle to massive
increases in livestock numbers had now been removed.
During the period up to 1935 the sedentary indigenouis cultivators had
also built up their herds. Stable government and more settled conditions
reduced theft and provided the opportunity for trade and barter with the
nonsedentary Baggara. Much of the trade was in small lots at frequent in-
tervals and probably paved the way for more use of a transport animal
better suited to small loads and wetter climates than the camel and less
disruptive to herd management than the constant use of the pack bull.
The donkey is preeminent in its suitability to these conditions, and its use
as the almost universal beast of burden in Darfur dates from this period.
By 1940 political stability, the availability of vaccines, and the increased
use of motor transport, which allowed limited veterinary staff to cover large
areas, had resulted in a rapid buildup of cattle numbers."8 The Second
World War was an undoubted benefit to the Baggara. High prices for their
animals gave them access to appreciable amounts of cash for the first time
in their history. The offtake, however, was almost entirely in the form of
unproductive male stock, and the cash, wherever possible, was reinvested
in female stock.19
Cattle were still by far the most numerous animals owned, but numbers
were rapidly approaching the carrying capacity of the land.20 Sheep and

16The death rate from rinderpest in herds treated by the Veterinary Department
dropped from 9 percent to under 2 percent: Abdalla A. Mustafa and Musa T. Fawi,
"Control of Disease as a Prerequisite of Development," Sudan Journal of Veterinary
Science and Animal Husbandry 7 (1966): 46-73.
17 Ian A. Gillespie, "The Nomads of the Sudan and Their Livestock in the 20th
Century,"Sudan Journal of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry 7 (1966): 13-23.
is Natural rates of annual increase up to 20 percent are quite possible under these
conditions; see "African Land Development in Kenya," mimeographed (Nairobi: Kenya
Government, Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Resources and Husbandry, 1956).
19The sale of males at this stage, when prices were high, undoubtedly suggests a
rational response to economic opportunity.
2 Carrying capacity is defined as the maximum number of animals, expressed as live-
stock units, which can be carried per unit area on a sustained yield basis. Stocking rate,
which will be referredto later, is the actual number of livestock units per unit area.
500 R. T. Wilson

goat populations (in the absence of devastating epizootics, with adequate

nutritional levels and low internal parasite burdens due to the manage-
ment system and climate) also increased rapidly at this time.
The Veterinary and Livestock Development Committee was formed in
1946 and, from the following year, the economic potential of stock began
to be fully exploited. As a first step it was decided to mount full-scale vac-
cination campaigns to cover the whole country. Although this was a far-
reaching decision, the seeds of ecological disaster had already been sown,
and the cattle population was already fast outstripping the available food
supplies.
The Situation between 1947 and 1972. The annual cycle of the Baggara
had settled into a fairly stylized pattern.21 Each tribe had a dar, or home-
land, usually in the Alluvial land system, where the best grazing was
available and where a small area of crops, mainly millet, was grown. These
crops were planted during the early rains; as the rains became more in-
tense in July, conditions in the area became intolerable due to muddy con-
ditions and biting insects. Migration to the north onto the Basement land
system took place, but as the rains decreased the return, southward move-
ment started. By the end of September or early October the herds were
back in the dar. Here they stayed until the crops were harvested and until
the good grazing and surface water were exhausted. In November or De-
cember a southerly migration took place to the Bahr el 'Arab and beyond.22
The Bahr is seasonal, but isolated pools last for some time, and after these
have dried out water can be obtained by digging in the river bed. Although
animals had to be trekked long distances to grazing, the presence of water
was the determining factor. With the onset of the first scattered showers
the herds moved to wherever rain had caused a flush of growth and where
surface water was again available. As soon as enough rain had fallen to
make surface water freely available on the route back to the dar, the move
back began, and the cycle was completed once the dar was reached and
the next year's crop planted. This general pattern applied to all the Arab
tribes with the exception of the Beni Halba, wlho moved north during the
dry season, to the lower slopes of Jebel Marra. The tribal homeland areas
and the main migratory routes of Southern Darfur are shown in figure 2.
The estimated livestock population of the area of study in 1944 was
85,000 cattle, 10,000 sheep, and 4,000 goats.23 These figures, based on re-
turns filed for tax purposes, are undoubtedly low, but probably reflect the
relative proportions of stock at 42:5:2 for cattle, sheep, and goats.
2' Various accounts are available, probably the first full one being given by M. N. Har-
rison, "Report on a Grazing Survey of the Sudan," mimeographed (Khartoum: Ministry
of Agriculture, 1955). A synopsis of most tribal movements throughout the Sudan, with
data from many sources is given in J. H. G. Lebon, Land Use in Sudan, World Land
Use Survey monographno. 4 (Bude, U.K.: GeographicalPublications, 1965), pp. 113-26.
'2 Legislation was in force enabling the Baggara to have the first period of grazing
for a distance of two days trek south of the Bahr; this was granted the Baggara in pref-
erence to the Nilotic tribes who live south of the river.
23
These figures have been derived from distribution maps of Sudan livestock com-
piled by C. M. Hancock, "Animal Population of the Sudan with Statistics," in Report
of the Soil Conservation Committee to the Governnent of Sudan (Khartoum: Mc-
Corquidale, 1944). The report admitted a possible overall error of 25 percent with
considerably greater errorsin the nomadic areas.
 Temporal Changes in Livestock Numbers 501

- Jebel Marra

K(a

a l t~~~S E D E N T A R Y|
LNyala

CU T A R
B ENI |del .
Fg 2GhanaJ

""TA 'A I S H A '

Tllus 7

o 50 / *EG* E 1N D

0 soL0EN
Wet Season Migrations
kilometers Dry Season Migrations
Cattle
Comels?----
Permanent Immigration- -

Fig. 2. Tribal Homelands and Principal Migration Routes.

Ecological energetics are such that, even when stocling rate exceeds
carrying capacity, high rates of increase would continue for some time.24
The balance, however, was altering. Increasing sedentary human popula-
24This type of relationship is typical of small mammals being preyed upon b carni-
vores but holds good for this situation where the range resource can be consizered as
the "prey" and the domestic livestock as the "predator."A boom or bust of
this type is described by Jeremy Swift, "Disaster and a Sahelian Nomad relationship
Economy,' in
Drought in Africa, ed. David Dalby and R. J. Harrison-Church (London: Centre for
African Studies, 1973) and a figure based on this is shown in Anders Rapp, A Review of
Desertization in Africa: Water, Vegetation and Man (Stockholm: SIES, 1974), p. 23.
502 R. T. Wilson

tions in turn restricted the total area available for traditional migratory
movements. By the middle of the l950s it was estimated that these western
Baggara ranges were overstocked by 20 percent.25 Certainly by 1960 the
livestock population was grossly in excess of the carrying capacity, and a
rapid deterioration of the range resource, especially grazing, was taking
place.26 This would result in a decline in the rate of increase of livestock
numbers, marginal at first, due to lowered birthrates and higher death
rates. Increases in the human population due to increased births and im-
migration of sedentary cultivators resulted in an unfavorable balance of
livestock to human ratios.27
In order to survive these adverse effects on their livestock, the Baggara
have turned more to cultivation, particularly of cash crops.28 The relative
importance of farming and the smaller individual holdings of cattle are
both factors which would have caused changes in the traditional migra-
tion patterns, but the establishment of deep bores in the dar areas (en-
suring a year-round supply of water) has made such changes much easier.
The long soutlherly migration has now been largely replaced by two shorter
ones: the first immediately after the harvest to make use of the surface
water (borehole water has to be paid for) and the second at the start of
the early rains in order to take advantage of the new grass.
The provision of water on a year-round basis in the dar areas has made
grazing, hitherto not fully utilized, available to livestock. This has con-
tributed to the maintenance of numbers, until 1972 or 1973, at the levels
achieved in the early sixties. The continued use of the dar areas at high
levels of stocking for long periods has resulted in their rapid deterioration,
and the advantages of the availability of water are rapidly being superseded
by the reduction in carrying capacity. The probable changes in the cattle
population in Southern Darfur over a 30-year period are shown in table 1.
The combination of range deterioration and increasing settlement has led
to conditions which goats are able to exploit better than any otlher domestic
animal. Their ability to produce and rear two young at regular intervals
under range conditions in which other animals can barely survive has re-

25 Harrison, "Report on a Grazing Survey of the Sudan." This is almost certainly an

underestimation.Livestock numbershad built up very rapidly and the effects, denudation
and erosion, were probably just becoming apparent. In addition, all rainfall stations in
and close to the area recorded higher than average precipitation in every year from
1950 to 1955, with the exception of some stations in 1952; this would temporaniy oDscure
the effects of overstocking.
26This statement is largely deductive, based on studies of aerial photographs taken
in 1957 and in 1972. No quantitative studies of range production were undertaken until
the latter year, the results of which are available in Southern Darfur Land Use Planning
Survey (Boreham Wood, U.K.: Hunting Technical Services, 1972).
27 In the early fifties the ratio was 6.0 cattle and 1.1 sheep and goats per human with
a population density of 2.6 people per km2; see Ian C. Cunnison, "The Humr and Their
Land," Sudan Notes and Records 35 (1954): 11-26. In 1972 the ratios were 4.4 and
2.3 with a population density of 6.5 per km2.
28 A comparison of aerial photographs taken in 1957 with those taken in 1972 indi-
cated that the area under cultivation was 2.18 times as great in the latter year over a
sample area of 3,573 km2. The arrival of the railhead at Nyala in 1961 has probably
had considerable influence on the area of cash crops grown.
 Temporal Changes in Livestock Numbers 503

sulted in a recent rapid increase in numbers. Their small size makes them
admirable suppliers of small quantities of meat, and they can usually pro-
duce sufficient milk not only for their offspring but also as a surplus for
their owners. These facts have not escaped attention, and the ratio of cattle
to goats is now 5:2 compared with 40:2 in 1944.

TABLE 1
OF THE SOUTHERNDAiRUiR CATTLEPOPULATION
CwARACTERISTICS
1944-73
BREEDING FEMALES ANN UAL
DEATH RATE' RATE OF
ESTIMATED Percentage of Calving Rate CHANGE
YEAR NUMBER Total Herd Percentage (in Percentages)
1944 170,000 40 60 10 12.0
1950 335,000 40 55 12 7.0
1955 470,000 42 52 15 4.0
1960 572,000 45 50 17 1.0
1965 600,000 40-45 45-55 17-20 0.0
1973 600,000 43 53 24 -6.4
SOURCES:Birth and death rates for the beginning of the period are based on figures
from Kenya Masai on slightly understocked ranges in Morag C. Simpson, Alternative
Strategies for Range Land Development in Kenya, Rural Development Study no. 2 (Leeds,
U.K.: University of Leeds, Department of Economics, 1973). The figures for 1973 are
based on actual figuresobtained in Southern Darfur. See R. Trevor Wilson and Stanley E.
Clarke, "Studies on the Livestock of Southern Darfur. 2: Production Traits in Cattle,"
Tropical Animal Health and Production 8 (February 1976): 45-57.
Initial population plus births.

Although sheep, culturally, are important to the Baggara, they have been
unable to exploit Darfur conditions efficiently, and their total numbers re-
main at a fairly low level.
The unsuitability of Southern Darfur for a permanent system of camel
husbandry is reflected in the low resident population. The few animals
which are resident are used almost exclusively for pack purposes. In re-
cent years there has been more utilization of Southern Darfur by camels
in the dry season. The principal reason for this is undoubtedly the failure
of the gizu, the traditional winter grazing, since about 1965, but it is also
because of the increasing suitability of Southern Darfur for camels as a
result of the increased proportion of browse to grass and the generally
lower rainfall experienced over a number of years.29 Large herds of camels
are now common as far south as 10?30' north latitude from early November
through June or even later.
Donkey numbers have increased steadily in keeping with the greater
needs of transporting larger volumes of cash crops to markets and in sup-
plying the expanding urban populations with firewood and charcoal and

-oGizu are winter growing plants of the desert, mainly Indigofera spp. (Leguminosae)
and Aristida spp. (Gramineae). They spring up in years when rainfall has been late
and remain green and succulent for many months, obviating the need for animals to
drink. Camels (and sheep) can thus spend long periods away from permanent habitation
during gizu years, with the herdsmen obtaining their liquid requirements entirely from
the animals' milk. Recent years, particularly 1975 and 1977, have again produced gizu.
504 R. T. Wilson

the rural populations with domestic water.-0 Horse numbers have probably
fallen; in many ways they are a prestige animal, used only for personal
transport and expensive to keep. The possession of a horse is an ideal, but
the keeping of one is far from universal.
The principal changes in livestock numbers are shown diagrammatically
in figure 3. These clhanges can be correlated with the changing ecology of
the area, which has been largely induced by man. The ecological phases
and the types and dynamics of animals present in Southern Darfur are
summarized in table 2. It is not possible to attach a specific time scale to
the phases, but the first five are likely to have occupied less than 50 years
over much of the area, with the later phases succeeding each other mnore
rapidly than the earlier ones. The major part of the area in 1972 was in
phases 4 or 5, and some of the area, particularly of the Alluvial and Base-
ment land systems, was well on its way to phase 6.
Beyond 1972. By 1972 an excessive number of animals were struggling
for survival on a limited and declining resource base. Absolute numbers,
which are shown in table 3, were equivalent to a stocking rate of almost
half a million livestock units, while carrying capacity was estimated at only
210,000.31 Production was low, offtake static, and the emphasis in livestock
husbandry was shifting from cattle to goats. Cattle sales, which contribute
a large proportion to cash income, were being maintained only at the levels
of 1960, and this was being achieved only at the expense of herd structure.
As table 4 shows, the percentage of cows and calves sold increased from
just over 20 percent to 40 percent in a short period.32 During the same
period the numbers of goats sold increased by 300 percent.
Cattle numbers can be expected to decrease in future years, mainly as
a result of the continuation of poor reproductive levels and high death
rates. Sheep, which are basically unsuited to tlhis area of contrasting wet
and dry periods, are likely to maintain their numbers; their high birthrate
is offset by an extremely high death rate and high levels of offtake for
meat. The ability of goats to reproduce, grow, and survive under conditions
of deteriorating fodder production, their eclectic dietary tastes and effi-
ciency of food conversion enable them to do wefl under present Darfur
conditions. A high kidding rate of about 210 percent per annum is offset
by the demands made on them to provide meat and a source of cash
through sales.33 Females as well as males are sold and slaughtered, but a

-"At present human densities of 6.5 per km2 the demand for firewood and charcoal,
as well as the need for poles for building, has so far had little effect on range deteriora-
tion. Periurban areas are, of course, an exception to this general statement.
"IThe stocking rate is calculated from the number of livestock units based on herd
demographic structure, the equivalents being for each head of: cattle 0.72; sheep 0.10;
goats 0.06; camels and horses 1.00; and donkeys 0.50. Carrying capacity was deter-
mined from weighted averages for each of the land systems.
32
In local terminology calves are cattle of both sexes up to three years of age.
33 For detailed informationon herd and flock dynamics in cattle, slheep, and goats see
Wilson and Clarke, "Studies on the Livestock of Southern Darfur. 2: Production Traits
in Cattle," Tropical Animal Health and Production 8 (February 1976): 47-57; Wilson,
"Studies on the Livestock of Southern Darfur. 3: Production Traits in Sheep," Tropical
Animal Health and Production 8 (May 1976): 103-14; and Wilson, "Studies on the
Livestock of Southern Darfur. 4: Production Traits in Goats," Tropical Animal Health
and Production 8 (November 1976).
 Temporal Changes in Livestock Numbers 505

5-

Ca,

CD

L&J2

Fig. 3. TemporalChangesin LivestockNumbers.

506 R. T. Wilson

TABLE 2
CHAGES IN ECOLOGICAL CONDInONS AND LIvEsrocK
IN SOUTHERN DARFiUR

RESTRAINTS ON
LIVESTOCK BIOMASS EXPANSION OF
PHASE RANGE CONDITION DOMESTIC
AND TREND Type Numbers/Trend LIVESTOCK

1 Good/Stable Wild ruminants High/Stable Insecurity, politi-

Cattle Medium/Increasing cal instability,
Sheep and goats Low/Stable and disease
2 Good/Deterio- Wild ruminants High/Decreasing
rating Cattle High/Increasing
rapidly
Sheep and goats Low/Increasing
slowly
Donkeys Low/Stable
3 Fair/Deterio- Wild ruminants Medium/Decreasing
rating rapidly
Cattle Hi h/Increasing
slowly
Sheep and goats Low/Increasing
slowly
Donkeys Low/Increasing
4 Poor/Deterio- Wild ruminants Very Low Inadequate feed,
rating rapidly Cattle High/Static particularly
Sheep Low/Static protein
Goats Medium/Increasing
rapidly
Donkeys Medium/Increasing
5 Very poor/De- Cattle High/Decreasing Malnutrition and
teriorating Sheep Low/Static parasites
rapidly Goats High/Increasing
Donkeys Medium/Increasing
Camels (dry Low/Increasing
season)
6 Denuded Cattle Medium/Decreasing Absolute lack of
Sheep Low/Decreasing feed through-
Goats High/Static out the year
Donkeys High/Static
Camels (dry High
season)

TABLE 3
IN SURVEYAREA IN
LIVESTOCK 1972
CATEGORY NUMBER

Cattle 607,365
Sheep 68,416
Goats 245,269
Camels 2,906
Horses 7,463
Donkeys 42,981
Total 984,400
SOURCE: Author's estimates.
 Temporal Changes in Livestock Numbers 507

TABLE 4
CATTLESALEs INNYALA MAXETr
PERCENTAGE
YXAR NUMBER
Bulls Cows Calves
1962-68& 22,913 72 16 12
1968-69 25,877 75 16 9
1969-70 26,262 74 17 9
1970-71 29,126 73 12 15
1971-72 29,429 68 14 18
1972-73 20,429 60 21 19
1973-74 29,480
1974-75 21,856
SOURCE: Data extracted from Nyala livestock market records.
Average per year.

decrease in cattle numbers will almost inevitably mean an increase in goat

numbers.34 Camels are largely noncompetitive with other domestic animals
for food. The shift from grazing to browse as the principal source of pro-
tein is a further advantage to them. Their numbers in the area, particularly
in the dry season, can be expected to increase. In the absence of mech-
anized transport, any increase in the human population is likely to be ac-
companied by a concomitant increase in donkeys.
The increasing reliance of the Baggara on crops and more concentrated
settlement of cultivators on the Basement land system will be accompanied
by further curtailment of the traditional migratory movements. Some im-
migration of camel owners to the northern parts of the area can also be
expected. It is likely that a reverse movement will take place during the
dry season with sedentary livestock owners traveling to the Baggara dar
areas, due to the extreme degradation of the Basement. This happened in
the dry season of 1973-74.
The possibilities that the ecological degradation is spurious or temporary
are remote. In this area of relatively low rainfall and a harsh nine-month
long dry season, any recovery is likely to be very long term and achieved
only if stocking rates are drastically, and permanently, reduced.35
Similar situations are certain to arise, or have already arisen in three
situations: (1) where only part of the full range of technological, social,
and political improvements are applied. Veterinaiy and other nmeasures
to prevent livestock losses must always be accompanied by appropriate
" Swift, "Disaster and a Sahelian Nomad Economy," has also recorded the impor-
tance attached to goats in deterioratingecological conditions. This is in contradistinction
to the situation in highland Ethiopia where goats were the first animals to be sold when
drought struck; see Adrian P. Wood, "Farmers'Responses to Drought in Ethiopia," in
Drought and Famine in Ethiopia, ed. Abdul M. Husein (London: International African
Institute, 1976), pp. 67-87.
35 That pressure of human and livestock populations is primarily res onsible for the
ecological destruction can be said to be generally accepted in the Sudan; see, for ex-
ample, Desert Encroachment Control (Khartoum: Sudan Governrnent,National Coun-
cil for Research, 1974). Also in Ethiopia the famine "was largely brought about by a
combination of bad land use and increasing animal and human population." Drought
Rehabilitationin Wolo and Tigre (Addis Ababa: Relief and Rehabilitation Commission,
1974), p. 26.
508 R. T. Wilson

measures to ensure that the increased numbers of animals resulting can be

fed and marketed efficiently; (2) where communal systems of grazing pre-
vail without restrictions on individual livestock holdings; and (3) where
water is provided by deep bores or by surface supplies in quantities which
can alleviate the thirst of more animals than the fodder resource of the
immediate area is capable of supporting on a sustained basis.36

36 For an evaluation of possible altemative strategies relating to the modernizationof

pastoralism, see Clare Oxby, Pastoral Nomads and Development (London: International
African Institute, 1975).