Assessment of people’s knowledge and perceptions of vultures in some selected areas of Plateau state Nigeria and its conservation implications

Abstract

The study was conducted to assess the perceptions, beliefs, knowledge and attitudes of people toward vultures. Four study sites from three local government areas in Jos were selected. Methods included the use of open ended, semi-structured questionnaires. Respondents were selected using stratified random sampling and purposive sampling. A hundred and sixty respondents participated in the study. Results revealed that the most seen and identified vulture species was the Hooded Vulture Necrosyrte monarchus 83(51.9%). Respondents’knowledge of what vultures eat and where they can be found showed varied knowledge among respondents. Respondents also thought that vultures had declined but could not link the decline to any human activity. Seventy-five (46.9%) of the respondents had negative perceptions of vultures, while 57(35.6%) had positive perceptions. Local beliefs about vultures revealed that vultures where perceived as evil by 38(23.7%) of the respondents. Knowledge of vulture importance in the environment was low, 77(48.1%) perceived vultures as not important while 72(45.0%) thought them important. Perception and knowledge about vultures was seen to affect the willingness of respondents to protect vultures. We conclude that knowledge and perceptions about Vultures is low, and might be related to the low sightings and interactions with the species due to the decline in vulture populations. We suggest that education and awareness programs and campaigns need to be intensified among the public to end Vulture persecution and decline

Keywords: Perception, Attitude, Vulture, Biodiversity, Conservation