PAPER TITLE :WILD VERTEBRATES ASSOCIATED WITH CROP RAIDING AROUND KAINJI LAKE NATIONAL PARK, NIGERIA

APPLIED TROPICAL AGRICULTURE | VOLUME 21 NUMBER 3 2016

Paper Details

  • Author(s) : Ogunjobi, J.A.1* and Adeola, A.J.2
  • Abstract:

Crop raiding activities of wild vertebrates around Kainji Lake National Park (KLNP), Nigeria was investigated in 2013.
Based on closeness to the park boundaries, ten out of thirty communities were purposively selected for this study.
Questionnaire and on-site field assessments were used to gather research information while catalogue with pictures of
different wild vertebrates endemic to KLNP was used to authenticate farmers’ claim on wild animal species. Data
generated were subjected to descriptive and chi-square analyses. The common wild vertebrates raiding farmlands
identified by the farmers comprised of nine species belonging to three orders (primates, rodentia and aves). Large
percentage of the raids (43.53%) was perpetrated by primates with the highest single raid carried out by Papio anubis.
Statistically, species of wild vertebrates involves in crop raiding were significantly different (χ2 = 344.09, df = 8, p<0.01)
in relation to farm locations. There are seven commonly raided crops and Zea mays was the most frequently (30.73%)
raided while Manihot esculenta (1.67%) was the least. Raiding pattern by wild vertebrates was similar to
farmers’cultivating pattern (Zea mays >Sorghum bicolor >Vigna unguiculata >Oryza sativa >Arachis hypogea>Discorea
spp > Manihot esculenta). The raided crop however varies significantly (χ2 = 324.68, df = 6, p<0.02) across the selected
communities.