In December 1974 I was privileged to make a fifteen-day journey in the northern reaches of the vast Ouadi Rimé–Ouadi Achim Faunal Reserve in the sub-saharan belt of the Republic of Chad. In size this reserve is comparable with Scotland and it has received much less attention than is its due. Created in 1969 to protect ostrich Struthio camelus, cheetah Acinonyx jubatus, addax Addax nasomaculatus and scimitar-horned oryx, Oryx dammah, it is of particular significance to the oryx, harbouring one of the few viable wild breeding populations. My guide to the reserve was John E. Newby, a British ecologist who has been studying its wildlife for the past three years; he helped me to appreciate the enormous difficulties involved in protecting its endangered species.