Main Article Content

Assessment of Nile crocodile utilization (Crocodylus niloticus) in Dunukofia Local Government Area, Anambra State, Nigeria


Z. Dododawa
R.C. Nwolisah

Abstract

Assessment of Nile Crocodile utilization was carried out in six communities of Dunukofia local government area in Anambra state. A sampling intensity of 0.5% of the total population of each community was used to get a sample size of 323 respondents. Data were collected through questionnaire and complemented with personal observation and in-depth interview. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics such as frequency, percentage and mean and presented as tables and charts. Results revealed that 85.14% of the respondents do not utilize crocodile meat as food while 14.86% of the respondents utilize crocodile meat as food. The highest number of respondents (66.67%) eat crocodile meat because of its taste while the least number (2.08%) because it is cheap. Results on non-consumptive utilization of Nile crocodile revealed that highest number of respondents (43.65%) utilize crocodile for traditional medicine while the least number (6.19%) reported that crocodile is utilized for tourism. The result also revealed that the sources of crocodile are the river (68.42%), markets (28.17%), and hunters (3.41%). A high percentage of the respondents (88.50%) are not interested in starting crocodile farming while 11.50% of the respondents are interested in starting crocodile farming. Majority of the respondents (65.73%) are not interested in starting crocodile farming because crocodiles are dangerous, 21.68% do not have the skills, 7.34% said crocodile farming is not popular and the least (5.24%) reported that it is high capital. Crocodile body parts utilized as revealed by the respondents were the whole body (53.56%), the head (30.03%), the limbs (10.84%), and the tail (5.57%). It is recommended that the locals be encouraged to engage in crocodile farming to help conserve the remaining crocodile population in the wild as well as create employment opportunities.


Journal Identifiers


eISSN: 2695-236X