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| Cattle are a common road hazard |
Sometimes I am asked about what sorts of animals I see in Chad. I'm not likely to see any large wild animals outside of national parks (and maybe not so much even inside a park, since they suffer from a lot of illegal poaching). But domestic animals are everywhere in southern Chad, and most of them are allowed to roam freely around the villages and across the roads (except in the rainy season, when they are kept contained a bit better so as to keep them out of people's fields and gardens). But in spite of the traffic hazard they pose, animals are important in Chad. Here, animals are not really pets; they provide the people with food, transportation, a source of income, or a means of protection from thieves or vermin.
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| Chadian cattle are huge, but usually placid |
Cattle
Usage: Meat, draft animal
Attitude toward approaching vehicles: "This is my road. I have the right of way."
Chadian cattle are huge creatures with humped shoulders and formidable, lyre-shaped horns. But thankfully, they are usually placid animals. Usually, cattle are kept in herds, tended by boys as young as 6 or 7 years old.
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| Young boys tend herds of cattle |
One of the main uses of cattle is for their meat. The other is as draft animals: cattle are used to pull plows (in the planting season) and carts with heavy loads.
Herds of cattle, driven by their cattle boys, are common sights on the roads in rural Chad, crossing the road or walking along it. You wouldn't want to hit one - they are so big that I'm not sure who would be the winner of that contest! And they know it too; they aren't the least worried by approaching vehicles, and if the herd boy doesn't make them move out of the way, they might just not bother.
Camels
You aren't likely to see any camels around Sarh, but I have often seen them on the outskirts of the capital, N'Djamena. As you get further north, into the Sahara Desert, no doubt you'd see many more. They are typically kept by Muslims.
Horses
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| Carts are a common sight throughout Chad |
Usage: riding and draft animal
Attitude toward approaching vehicles: "I'm just following my rider's instructions."
Horses are usually kept by Muslims, both for riding and for pulling carts. In Sarh, you won't see camels but you will see a fair number of horses. They are more expensive to keep than donkeys and less hardy, but they can pull heavier loads. They usually aren't allowed to roam freely, so aren't too much of a traffic hazard as long as the rider or cart driver is doing his job right.
Mules
I've never actually seen mules in Chad, as they are not usually kept around Sarh. I wouldn't have even known they existed in Chad, if it hadn't been for the need to translate the word for "mule" several times last year in the course of my Bible translation work. One language had used the word for "donkey", but after a bit of discussion, we were able to find a word for "mule". However, it isn't something the translators normally see in the area where they live. Some months later, one translator traveled to the town of Goundi, a good distance north of Sarh, and saw mules for the first time. In our next workshop, he excitedly told me how interesting it had been to see them for himself, after we had discussed them in our workshop earlier that year.
Donkeys
Usage: riding and draft animal
Attitude toward approaching traffic: "I'll do what I like, thank you."
Donkeys are used for pulling carts and sometimes for riding. They are hardy but not so strong as oxen or horses, so they seem to get the worst of it for draft animals in Chad - I've so often seen them being made to pull loads that look way too much for them, but they just keep plodding away faithfully.
Donkeys usually are kept close to home when not pulling carts, but not always; sometimes they do roam about freely, and when they do, it is wise for nearby vehicles to watch out. Donkeys tend to be unpredictable on the road, and may decide to run into the middle of the road just in front of an approaching vehicle.
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| Chadian sheep are hairy, not wooly |
Sheep
Usage: meat
Attitude toward oncoming traffic: "What am I supposed to do?"
We call them "sheep" but they are really something between sheep and goats. They are distinct from goats in appearance and behavior, but they are hairy, not wooly. So they are used for meat and not for making clothing.
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| Chadian "sheep" are rather goatish creatures |
Sheep roam freely all over the place, and they can be real hazards on the roads. They do see a vehicle coming and want to get out of the way, but just don't seem to know how to do it. So much for the intelligence of sheep!
Goats
Usage: meat
Attitude toward oncoming traffic: "Time to move, folks!"
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| Chadian goats can be a nuisance |
Goats are usually a little shorter-legged than sheep and have short horns. But like sheep, they roam freely most of the time, and they like to make nuisances of themselves sneaking into my backyard to eat leaves and things from my trees. They are more skittish and quick-witted than sheep, and they do the best of any animal in avoiding traffic. Even if they are inattentive and don't notice the vehicle right away, a quick honk of the horn is enough to remind them to get out of the way.
Dogs
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| My coworker's dog was part-Chadian |
Usage: Burglar alarm
Attitude toward oncoming traffic: "Hey, interesting smell .... Whoops, there's a truck!"
Dogs are kept in Chad as a sort of guard dog, but mainly to make noise; they will normally not attack people. Unlike dogs in Europe, America, and Australia, they don't really come in different breeds, but are all of a rather similar breed: medium-sized and short-haired, with long legs and slender bodies, usually some shade of yellow or yellow-and-white or black-and-white.
My coworker's dog, Normandy, was part-Chadian dog and part-Labrador and was almost all black, which is an unusual color for dogs in Chad. She was also a bit shorter and stockier than most Chadian dogs, so her somewhat unusual appearance made people look twice at her.
Dogs usually keep out of the way of traffic pretty well - when they are paying attention. They have a tendency to get distracted by interesting smells or tasty scraps on the road. On the side roads or rural villages that see less frequent vehicle traffic, it's not unusual for dogs to take a nice nap on the road. I don't know why the road is such a good place for that!
Pigs
Usage: meat
Attitude toward approaching traffic: "Okay, I'll move!"
Some Chadians keep pigs, but I and my coworkers don't eat them because pig's meat has a risk of disease unless it is specially processed. We have plenty of other kinds of meat around here without risking that.
Pigs do alright at avoiding traffic, but they don't always move very fast so one has to be careful. You wouldn't want to run over a pig. Cattle and donkeys would just mess up the front of your truck, but the low-slung, plump body of a pig could flip it over, and that would not be cool.
Ducks
Usage: Eggs, meat
Attitude toward approaching traffic: "What truck?"
Ducks are kept for their eggs and I believe for their meat as well. When it comes to vehicles, they just don't get it. They'll just keep on waddling along right under the wheels of the truck, without even changing their pace. So it's up to the vehicle's driver to watch out for them.
Chickens and guinea fowl
Usage: Meat, eggs
Attitude toward oncoming traffic: "The sky is falling! The sky is falling!"
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| Many Chadians raise chickens for extra income |
Chickens are everywhere in Chad. Even in town, some people keep them to provide a bit of extra income. But if you crave a fried chicken dinner in Chad, be forewarned: there are a few more steps involved here. You see, in Chad, you'll usually buy your chicken live, fully feathered and clucking or crowing. It's up to you to kill, pluck, clean, gut, and cook it!
Don't feel bad. I couldn't do that either. Besides, I haven't got the time! This is a good example of one reason why missionaries and other expats in Chad hire cooks: kitchen work is just a lot more complicated and time-consuming there.
Chickens are almost as good as goats at avoiding traffic, as they are panicky critters who run like mad when a vehicle gets near. It wouldn't be easy to hit one, though it does happen.
Guinea fowl look like ugly chickens, with bald heads and grey bodies with white spots. Their meat is darker and sort of greasier than chicken (guinea fowl is not my top favorite meat). Their eggs are smaller than most chicken eggs, more rounded on the big end and more pointy on the small end, with a rich golden-yellow yolk. The eggs are really delicious, so I guess guinea fowl are good for something! ;-)
Cats
Usage: Killing vermin
Attitude toward oncoming traffic: "Yikes! Get me outta here!"
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| Cats are kept to control vermin |
Chadians don't think of cats as cuddly pets, but they do like to have them around their property to keep down the vermin population. They are also effective at producing kittens: there isn't any good way to neuter cats in southern Chad. My coworkers' cat, Moose, has about two litters a year. But as there is always a high demand for vermin-killers, there is never any difficulty in distributing them.
Life is rough for Chadian cats, as it is for all animals in Chad, and usually you'd be doing well to keep a cat for a year before it disappears, having fallen victim to one of the many dangers to cats in Africa. However, there are exceptions: Moose must be a good 6 years old by now, and one Chadian friend told me his cat lived for 15 years before finally dying of old age.
Cats tend to stick around the house looking for vermin, and not wander about the roads too much, but when they do come onto the road and see a vehicle approaching, they aren't usually inclined to stick around for long.
So there are the domestic animals of Chad! Nuisances, wandering over the roads and getting in the way of vehicles; yet useful, allowing many Africans to have income and transportation. And after even a short time in Chad, it is always strange to return to a developed country and drive down the road for mile after mile without seeing a single cow, camel, horse, donkey, sheep, goat, dog, pig, duck, chicken, guinea fowl, or cat!
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