Darfur is the westernmost province of the Republic of the Sudan. It encompasses almost one-half million square kilometers in area, bounded on the south by the Bahr el 'Arab at about 9? north latitude and in the north by the twentieth parallel; and extending from approximately 22?30'E in the west to 27?E in the east. Much of the northern area is desert, either totally unused or only occasionally occupied by livestock. In all, about 250,000 square kilometers are suitable for continuous livestock use, including the whole of the 160,000 square kilometers which now constitute the province of Southern Darfur.1 Darfur, and particularly the southern part of the province, has long been the principal source from which livestock have been drawn, especially cattle for export and for slaughter in Khartoum. An analysis of veterinary department records for the twelve years prior to the outbreak of the Second World War shows that of the total cattle exported from the Sudan during this period, 69.3 percent came from southern Darfur and neighbouring southern Kordofan, varying in individual years from 44 percent to 94 percent. After the war it was estimated that about 80 percent of export animals came from these areas.2 The location of this important area in the Sudan's livestock economy in relation to northeast Africa as a whole, and the approximate areas occupied by the principal cattle-owning tribes, known collectively in the Sudan as Baqqara, is illustrated in the accompanying map.