Wildlife conservation and agrarian economy in communities around Kainji Lake National Park, Niger State, Nigeria

This study was carried out to assess the wildlife conservation and agrarian economy in communities around Kainji lake national park of Niger state  Nigeria. The study was carried out in ten (10) randomly selected villages around Kainji Lake National Park namely (Luma, Kemenji, Kuble, New- Awuru, Old-Awuru, Dekera, Wawa, Woro, Malale, and Old Bussa). A total of 20 Questionnaires were administered in each community. Data was analysed using simple percentages, frequency counts and tables. The results revealed that most of the respondents (51.5%) engaged in farming for food production and income generation while about 31% of them engaged in farming for income generation only. Damages and destructions  caused by wild animals to crops in the study area is high and causes significant danger to the agrarian economy. Wild animals such as Hippopotamus (34.5%) raided the crop farms most, closely followed by Baboons (32.5%) and Patas monkey (24.5%). Farmers in retaliation adopted lethal methods such as using toxic chemicals (34%) and hunting (27.5%) to safeguard their crops. This study showed that conflict between man and animal is a serious problem in communities around conservation areas and this requires an urgent intervention to save animal in the study area  from extinction. Keywords: Wildlife, Conservation, Agrarian economy, Hunting and Extinction

Nutritional And Anti – Nutritional Composition Of Black – Plum (Vitex Doniana)

The search for more nutrition sources among forest products has called for the analysis of nutritional and  anti – nutritional composition of Vitex doniana.  Although, Vitex doniana had been  known to be very useful among people across tropical Africa and beyond, but there is lack of adequate data on its nutritional composition. The result of this study presented Vitex doniana as highly nutritious plant that contain moisture of about, 77.03%, ash content: 1.65%, fat: 2.9%, fibre: 2.75, protein: 8.10 and carbohydrate: 7.57. Vitex doniana contains vitamins, macro and micro – nutrient in different proportions. Among anti –nutritive factors found in Vitex doniana are: tannins, saponin, alkaloids and trace of cardiac glycoside, yet this can be controlled by boiling. It is concluded that the young leaf is highly rich in nutrients and contains the nutrient levels that fall within other popular edible vegetables. It is therefore recommended for human consumption in every household. It is also suggested that further research should be carried out on its economic status and feasibility of the seed as feed supplement in animal feed

Seasonal variation in plants consumption pattern by foraging Olive Baboons ( Papio anubis . Lesson, 1827) inside Kainji Lake National Park, Nigeria

This study which lasted for eight (8) months in 2011, covering the period of dry and wet seasons examined seasonal plant species consumed by foraging Olive baboon ( Papio anubis ) inside Kainji Lake National Park, Nigeria. Data were collected in the morning between 8.00am - 12.00pm and in the evening between 2.00pm - 6:00pm. Plant species and their parts eaten were monitored and identified through direct observation and faecal analysis. It was observed that seven plants species ( Andropogon gayanus , Strychnos spinosa , Nuclear latifiora, Vitelaria paradoxa , Ficus sycomorus , Annona senegalensis and Tamarindus indica ) were consumed in the wet season with 303 feeding events while ten plants species ( Detarium macrocarpum , Gardenia sotoemsis, Parkia biglobosa , Piliostigma thonningii , Pterocarpus erinaceus , Prosopis africana , Ficus sycomorus , Xamenia americana, Annona senegalensis and Vitex doniana) were consumed during the dry season with 315 feeding events. The feeding pattern shows that plants with higher nutritional quality were often consumed. Seasonal variation showed slight disparity in the nutrient composition of the identified plants. It was concluded that seasonal variations do affect the plants consumption pattern of foraging Olive baboon and that exsitu conservation of these plants is imperative for sustainable captive management of Olive baboon

Assessment of Wildlife Hunting Activities in Ido Local Government Area, Oyo State Nigeria

The study was conducted to assess hunting activities in Ido Local Government Area, Oyo State, Nigeria. A well-structured questionnaire was administered to obtain information from fifty hunters using a simple random sampling technique. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The result showed that 96% of hunters in the study area were men. Most of the respondents were married (84%) and within the age bracket of 31 and 50 years (48%). About 34% and 40% of respondents had primary and secondary education respectively while 13% had no formal education. They had between 20 and 29 years’ experience in wild animal hunting. Sixty-eight percent of the hunters in the study area engaged in part-time hunting while 32% were full-time hunters. The study further revealed that the hunters engaged in hunting for financial gain (64%), leisure (34%) and family tradition (38%). About ten types of species of wildlife animals were commonly killed by the hunters, and the animals were sold within the community market (42%), outside the community market (32%) and to visiting bushmeat marketers (26%). The study therefore recommends a policy that will control hunting activitiesin the study area, knowing that animal hunting serves as another source of livelihood to the hunters. Keywords: Hunters, wildlife, bushmeat, community market, occupatio

Evaluation of pytochemicals and vitamins constituents of Corchorus aestuans L.

This study evaluates the phytochemicals and vitamins constituents of Corchorus aestuans. The plant extracts were prepared by cold maceration using methanol as a solvent. Phytochemical screening was carried out using preliminary phytochemical tests and the vitamins was determined according to procedure outlined by Official Methods of Analysis of the Association of Official Analytical Chemistry. Data obtained were subjected to descriptive statistics. The qualitative phytochemical screening showed the presence of tannin, phenolic, saponin, alkaloid, flavonoid, trypsin, glycoside and carbohydrates while steroids, cardiac glycosides and triterpene are not presence. The quantitative phytochemical constituents of leaves of Corchorus aestuans indicated that alkaloid and flavonoid recorded the highest mean value of 2.973 and 0.131 mg/kg each, followed by carbohydrates with 0.99 mg/kg while phenolic was the least with a mean of 0.01 mg/kg. Vitamins composition of the leaves of Corchorus aestuans showed that vitamin C recorded the highest value of 8.82 mg/100g, followed by Vitamin E and Vitamin A (5.68 and 2.246 mg/100g) while Vitamin D (0.27mg/100g) is the least. The study concludes that leaves of Corchorus aestuans can serve as a good source of vitamins and used as herbs. Therefore, the study recommends that further study on pharmacological uses of C. aestuans should be carried out and include in the human diet to solve the problem of malnutrition

Effects of Different Processing Methods on Proximate Composition of Mucuna Pruriens

The effects of different processing methods on proximate composition of Mucuna pruriens seeds was investigated. The Mucuna seeds were sorted, cleaned and processed into raw, boiled, fermented and toasted. Processed Mucuna seed was dried and ground with Kenwood food blender, the powdered sample was kept in a refrigerator at –40C prior to use. The powdered sample were analyzed for proximate composition using standard analytical methods. All data obtained were carried out in triplicates and subjected to analysis of variance and Duncan Multiple Range Test was used to separate the means. The proximate composition of the samples showed that the Mucuna pruriens seeds had a range of moisture, 8.62-13.01%, ash content, 4.15-6.47%, crude fibre, 2.24-3.92%, crude protein, 29.19-32.28%, crude fat, 2.74-4.87% and carbohydrate, 42.06-53.47% respectively. , the raw seeds had the highest values of moisture content, ash contents, crude fat and carbonhydrate (13.01±0.14, 6.47±0.24, 4.87±0.56 and 53.47±1.48 respectively). Different processed technique significantly (p˂0.05) increased the crude protein content of the Mucuna seeds samples from 29.19±0.14 to 32.28±0.24 for raw seed and Boiled seed. There was no significant (p˃0.05) difference between raw mucuna seed and fermented mucuna seed. Considering the crude fibre the raw seed had the highest value 3.92% while the fermented had the least (2.83%), in term of crude fat, the boiled seed had the highest, (4.87%) while the fermented had the least (2.74%). The study recommends that the seeds, when properly processed, have high nutritional values that can be exploited and considered as an alternative source of nutrients to reduce malnutrition among economically weaker categories of people in the developing countries

Acceptability and Constraint of Snail Meat as Source of Animal Protein among Inhabitants of Lafia Metropolis, Nassarawa State Nigeria

This study examined the acceptability of snail as source of protein among inhabitants of Lafia metropolis of Nasarawa state, Nigeria. One hundred and twenty questionnaire were administer to the respondents and the data was analyze through descriptive statistics. The socio demographic characteristics of respondent’s shows that males had the highest percentage (74.2%) while 25.8% were female and age group 28-37 recorded the highest (40.8%). Majority (54.2%) of the respondents are unmarried while 45.8% are married with majority of them having an tertiary qualification The major occupation of the respondents shows that majority (32.5%) are civil servants, followed by 26.7% which are students and the least are hunter with 4.2%. Majority (55.8%) of the respondents are Muslim while 44.2% were Christian. The finding revealed that majority of the respondents are willing to buy and eat snail meat with mean value 3.99. The constraints associated with consumption of Snail meats showed that cost (Price) of snail meat scores the highest mean value of 4.12 and I do not eat Snails because my people do not eat it is the least with a mean value of 3.98. The Preference of Snails meat compared to meat from other animal sources revealed that beef recorded the highest (1.63 mean value), followed by Fish with mean value of 1.57 and Snail meat is the least with mean value of 1.26. This study recommend that awareness creation on the nutritional benefits of Snail meat consumption is necessary to enlist more consumer