Dr. Moses Oyatogun is the National Coordinator, Research and Development, Forestry and Wildlife, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta and a Senior Lecturer in the same school. He speaks about the state of Wildlife in Nigeria and the steady depletion of animals in zoological gardens across the country.

NatureNews: What would you describe as the challenge(s) facing zoological gardens in Nigeria?

Oyatogun: There are numerous challenges. Let me just attempt to itemize them:

One, there is a challenge of appreciating wildlife. Then, there is challenge of data. There is a lack of accurate data. I mean we don’t even know the exact population of wild animals that we have in Nigeria.

I can recollect that the last serious animal population census we did was far back as the 1980s and what we did at that time was that we combined the animal population census with national livestock population.

This was because at that time, the government was serious about funding wildlife, forestry, and activities that would conserve the resources we have in Nigeria.

For example, I have used a seasonal plane with people like Kevin Milligan and the late Professor Afolayan to do a survey of some of the national parks we have in Nigeria. We wanted to know the potential of those national parks.

At that time the Federal Government was serious so we usually had intergovernmental agencies who selected people from the research institutes, federal department of forestry and wildlife departments.

I was working in a research institute then. We were about six that were selected. We were the people that surveyed Gashaka Gumti and then recommended to the government that it should be made a national park.

It is important I start with this because the sources for the materials for our zoos are the national parks. The government has been trying to have the national parks as a national park system.

Another of our challenges is the lack of national focus. At that time, we had eight national parks. Yankari was one of them but because of our perception in this country, lack of focus from our political leaders and lack of collaboration with professionals. Instead of trying to increase the number of National Parks that we have which are the sources of wildlife that we can take to the zoos, they transferred ownership to state government and returned it to Yankari Game Reserve.

As a nation, we should make every effort to increase the number of national parks we have.

Lack of funding is also a major challenge. The zoos are not properly funded.

In the 1980s, there was a national wildlife capture team and Kainji Lake Research Institute did a lot of capturing of cubs with people like Prof. Agbelusi and the wildlife team at Kainji.

We collaborated with our counterparts in the school of wildlife management and we had a very good capture programme.

We were able to capture about 10 cubs with permission from the National Parks but the research couldn’t continue because funding ceased.

Let me mention that as of today, we don’t have capture guns in Nigeria. There is no way of demobilizing animals in our zoos for treatment or transportation. We only have few professionals specializing in wildlife programme.

We’re supposed to have veterinary doctors that specialize in wildlife veterinary medicine so that they can be part of the capture team and zoo management teams.

The government are only paying lip service. They are not funding educational program well. We have a college of wildlife management but we don’t have specialists to dispense knowledge.

Our wildlife is a national heritage and we are supposed to have active zoos. There is a lot to gain from ecotourism.

Zoological gardens are also facing environmental challenges like disease, flooding, under population, lack of facilities, inconsistency with policies and many other basic things. Government must fund wildlife well.

NatureNews: Why are we having an alarming rate of depletion of animals in zoological parks across the country?

Oyatogun: The first reason is inadequate feeding.

Second, inadequate drugs and equipment to keep the animals alive.

Three, over modification of the environment such that it isn’t looking like the natural environment of the animals.

Four, human beings are stealing some of those animals for special type of medicine, juju, voodoo; some are even stealing and re-selling the animals to other zoos.

We lack good inter-zoo cooperation if not it would be difficult to sell an animal stolen from a zoo to another zoo in Nigeria.

Inter-zoo will help zoos with multiple animals of same type distribute them to other zoos in need of same animals for exchange so that we’d have a widespread of animals across the zoos.

In addition, zoo workers lack incentives. Zoo workers are still being owed various allowances. There is no way they’ll be loyal.Dr. Moses Oyatogun is the National Coordinator, Research and Development, Forestry and Wildlife, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta and a Senior Lecturer in the same school. He speaks about the state of Wildlife in Nigeria and the steady depletion of animals in zoological gardens across the country.

NatureNews: What would you describe as the challenge(s) facing zoological gardens in Nigeria?

Oyatogun: There are numerous challenges. Let me just attempt to itemize them:

One, there is a challenge of appreciating wildlife. Then, there is challenge of data. There is a lack of accurate data. I mean we don’t even know the exact population of wild animals that we have in Nigeria.

I can recollect that the last serious animal population census we did was far back as the 1980s and what we did at that time was that we combined the animal population census with national livestock population.

This was because at that time, the government was serious about funding wildlife, forestry, and activities that would conserve the resources we have in Nigeria.

For example, I have used a seasonal plane with people like Kevin Milligan and the late Professor Afolayan to do a survey of some of the national parks we have in Nigeria. We wanted to know the potential of those national parks.

At that time the Federal Government was serious so we usually had intergovernmental agencies who selected people from the research institutes, federal department of forestry and wildlife departments.

I was working in a research institute then. We were about six that were selected. We were the people that surveyed Gashaka Gumti and then recommended to the government that it should be made a national park.

It is important I start with this because the sources for the materials for our zoos are the national parks. The government has been trying to have the national parks as a national park system.

Another of our challenges is the lack of national focus. At that time, we had eight national parks. Yankari was one of them but because of our perception in this country, lack of focus from our political leaders and lack of collaboration with professionals. Instead of trying to increase the number of National Parks that we have which are the sources of wildlife that we can take to the zoos, they transferred ownership to state government and returned it to Yankari Game Reserve.

As a nation, we should make every effort to increase the number of national parks we have.

Lack of funding is also a major challenge. The zoos are not properly funded.

In the 1980s, there was a national wildlife capture team and Kainji Lake Research Institute did a lot of capturing of cubs with people like Prof. Agbelusi and the wildlife team at Kainji.

We collaborated with our counterparts in the school of wildlife management and we had a very good capture programme.

We were able to capture about 10 cubs with permission from the National Parks but the research couldn’t continue because funding ceased.

Let me mention that as of today, we don’t have capture guns in Nigeria. There is no way of demobilizing animals in our zoos for treatment or transportation. We only have few professionals specializing in wildlife programme.

We’re supposed to have veterinary doctors that specialize in wildlife veterinary medicine so that they can be part of the capture team and zoo management teams.

The government are only paying lip service. They are not funding educational program well. We have a college of wildlife management but we don’t have specialists to dispense knowledge.

Our wildlife is a national heritage and we are supposed to have active zoos. There is a lot to gain from ecotourism.

Zoological gardens are also facing environmental challenges like disease, flooding, under population, lack of facilities, inconsistency with policies and many other basic things. Government must fund wildlife well.

NatureNews: Why are we having an alarming rate of depletion of animals in zoological parks across the country?

Oyatogun: The first reason is inadequate feeding.

Second, inadequate drugs and equipment to keep the animals alive.

Three, over modification of the environment such that it isn’t looking like the natural environment of the animals.

Four, human beings are stealing some of those animals for special type of medicine, juju, voodoo; some are even stealing and re-selling the animals to other zoos.

We lack good inter-zoo cooperation if not it would be difficult to sell an animal stolen from a zoo to another zoo in Nigeria.

Inter-zoo will help zoos with multiple animals of same type distribute them to other zoos in need of same animals for exchange so that we’d have a widespread of animals across the zoos.

In addition, zoo workers lack incentives. Zoo workers are still being owed various allowances. There is no way they’ll be loyal.

READ MORE: https://naturenews.africa/interview-the-last-animal-census-nigeria-had-was-in-the-80s/