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Unsustainable Exploitation of Freshwater Wetland Turtles and Tortoises in Central Niger Delta

Received: 7 February 2014     Published: 10 March 2014
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Abstract

Wildlife is commonly exploited as sources of animal protein in Nigeria. This study was designed to assess the rate of wildlife exploitation in 2 communities in Delta State, Nigeria specialized in the sale of turtles and tortoises. These two communities receive 1,512 turtles and tortoises weekly from hunters and display them for sales along the East-West Road. Fortnightly field surveys in these communities show that 12 shops displayed 144 – 212 numbers of turtles and tortoises while the rest are kept in bulk storage. Each shop sells 16 – 20 (average 18) on favorable business days and 3 – 9 (average 6) on unfavorable days. The retailer makes an average profit of N1000, N 3,500 and N 4000 per unit of small, medium and large species respectively (US $1 = N 156). The numbers of retailers are increasing. The turtles and tortoises were captured from freshwater wetlands located in an island bounded in the north by the bifurcation of River Niger at Aboh, and between Ramos River to the west and San Bartholomew River to the east and in the south by the mangrove ecosystem at the fringe of the Atlantic Ocean. These wetlands turtles and tortoises are mostly exploited for meat, traditional medicine and as source of employment and income. The species exploited include 2 species of turtles (Pelusios niger and P. castaneus) and tortoises (Kinixys erosa and K. homeana). The study concluded that this pattern of wildlife exploitation is unsustainable.

Published in International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis (Volume 2, Issue 2)
DOI 10.11648/j.ijema.20140202.11
Page(s) 57-64
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2014. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Biodiversity, Conservation, Herpetofauna, Wetlands

References
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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Elijah Ige Ohimain, Dimie Otobotekere, Biriduba Woyengitonyokopa. (2014). Unsustainable Exploitation of Freshwater Wetland Turtles and Tortoises in Central Niger Delta. International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis, 2(2), 57-64. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijema.20140202.11

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    ACS Style

    Elijah Ige Ohimain; Dimie Otobotekere; Biriduba Woyengitonyokopa. Unsustainable Exploitation of Freshwater Wetland Turtles and Tortoises in Central Niger Delta. Int. J. Environ. Monit. Anal. 2014, 2(2), 57-64. doi: 10.11648/j.ijema.20140202.11

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    AMA Style

    Elijah Ige Ohimain, Dimie Otobotekere, Biriduba Woyengitonyokopa. Unsustainable Exploitation of Freshwater Wetland Turtles and Tortoises in Central Niger Delta. Int J Environ Monit Anal. 2014;2(2):57-64. doi: 10.11648/j.ijema.20140202.11

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijema.20140202.11,
      author = {Elijah Ige Ohimain and Dimie Otobotekere and Biriduba Woyengitonyokopa},
      title = {Unsustainable Exploitation of Freshwater Wetland Turtles and Tortoises in Central Niger Delta},
      journal = {International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis},
      volume = {2},
      number = {2},
      pages = {57-64},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijema.20140202.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijema.20140202.11},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijema.20140202.11},
      abstract = {Wildlife is commonly exploited as sources of animal protein in Nigeria. This study was designed to assess the rate of wildlife exploitation in 2 communities in Delta State, Nigeria specialized in the sale of turtles and tortoises. These two communities receive 1,512 turtles and tortoises weekly from hunters and display them for sales along the East-West Road. Fortnightly field surveys in these communities show that 12 shops displayed 144 – 212 numbers of turtles and tortoises while the rest are kept in bulk storage. Each shop sells 16 – 20 (average 18) on favorable business days and 3 – 9 (average 6) on unfavorable days. The retailer makes an average profit of N1000, N 3,500 and N 4000 per unit of small, medium and large species respectively (US $1 = N 156). The numbers of retailers are increasing. The turtles and tortoises were captured from freshwater wetlands located in an island bounded in the north by the bifurcation of River Niger at Aboh, and between Ramos River to the west and San Bartholomew River to the east and in the south by the mangrove ecosystem at the fringe of the Atlantic Ocean. These wetlands turtles and tortoises are mostly exploited for meat, traditional medicine and as source of employment and income. The species exploited include 2 species of turtles (Pelusios niger and P. castaneus) and tortoises (Kinixys erosa and K. homeana). The study concluded that this pattern of wildlife exploitation is unsustainable.},
     year = {2014}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Unsustainable Exploitation of Freshwater Wetland Turtles and Tortoises in Central Niger Delta
    AU  - Elijah Ige Ohimain
    AU  - Dimie Otobotekere
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    T2  - International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis
    JF  - International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis
    JO  - International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis
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    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2328-7667
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijema.20140202.11
    AB  - Wildlife is commonly exploited as sources of animal protein in Nigeria. This study was designed to assess the rate of wildlife exploitation in 2 communities in Delta State, Nigeria specialized in the sale of turtles and tortoises. These two communities receive 1,512 turtles and tortoises weekly from hunters and display them for sales along the East-West Road. Fortnightly field surveys in these communities show that 12 shops displayed 144 – 212 numbers of turtles and tortoises while the rest are kept in bulk storage. Each shop sells 16 – 20 (average 18) on favorable business days and 3 – 9 (average 6) on unfavorable days. The retailer makes an average profit of N1000, N 3,500 and N 4000 per unit of small, medium and large species respectively (US $1 = N 156). The numbers of retailers are increasing. The turtles and tortoises were captured from freshwater wetlands located in an island bounded in the north by the bifurcation of River Niger at Aboh, and between Ramos River to the west and San Bartholomew River to the east and in the south by the mangrove ecosystem at the fringe of the Atlantic Ocean. These wetlands turtles and tortoises are mostly exploited for meat, traditional medicine and as source of employment and income. The species exploited include 2 species of turtles (Pelusios niger and P. castaneus) and tortoises (Kinixys erosa and K. homeana). The study concluded that this pattern of wildlife exploitation is unsustainable.
    VL  - 2
    IS  - 2
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Biodiversity Conservation and Research Group, Biological Science Department, Faculty of Science, Niger Delta University, Amassoma, Nigeria

  • Biodiversity Conservation and Research Group, Biological Science Department, Faculty of Science, Niger Delta University, Amassoma, Nigeria

  • Biodiversity Conservation and Research Group, Biological Science Department, Faculty of Science, Niger Delta University, Amassoma, Nigeria

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