Vegetation is extremely sparse in the northern desert areas, with most of the substantial forests to be found in central and southern regions. Savannah-type elephant grass covers much of the central steppe region. The river valleys are home to a wide variety of trees, such as acacia, ebony and baobab. Cotton, papyrus, rubber and castor-oil plants are also indigenous to the Nile Basin.
All the wild life one expects to find in Africa is present in the Sudan, but mostly in its southern region. Animals include elephants, lions, cheetahs, zebras, hippopotami, buffalo, antelope, rhinoceros, giraffe, various breeds of monkey, crocodiles and a large variety of tropical birds.
The equatorial regions of the Sudan are rich with the animal life. The southern forests are a natural habitat for animals such as elephants; crocodiles and hippos live in the rivers of the this area. Giraffes, lions, monkeys and leopards as well as various tropical birds and insects in the south and other regions in the Sudan. Poisonous insects, such as the mosquito, seroot fly and tsetse fly are unpleasantly active in the equatorial belt