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

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.