"Protected animals in Nigeria"
Good day fellow steemians, I believe you are all doing great. I am doing wonderfully well here. I am really glad to participate in this contest, as it is one of my concerns about the protection of animals in my country.
I thank the organiser for such a wonderful and interesting topic of discussion. Nigeria is one of the most populated countries in Africa, with a population of approximately 213 million people. Nigeria has a wide variety of wildlife due to its unique climate.
Nigeria's landscape supports a broad spectrum of environments. As stated in the contest, I would be enlightening you guys on the animals population status, what causes habitat and environmental change, thereby threatening the existence of these animals, and the legal laws protecting these animals.
THE WEST AFRICAN LIONS |
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The West African lion is a subspecies of lion that is found in western Africa. The population of these lions is approximated to be less than 300 mature individuals. These animals face a lot of habitat challenges that threaten their existence. Some of which are:
Human settlement: The expansion of human settlement and the construction of roads, dams, and other infrastructure projects have led to habitat loss of these animals.
Excessive hunting: Excessive hunting of this animal's prey species, such as antelopes, has reduced the food for lions.
Poaching: These animals are mostly hunted by humans for their meats, bones, and other body parts
The Endangered Species Act (2016) prohibits the hunting, killing, and capturing of the West African lions. Lions are very scarce now but can be found in the Kanji National Park. AFRICAN ELEPHANTS. The largest land animals on earth are the African elephants. They originate from the south of the Sahara desert and are of two species, which are the savanna and the forest elephants.
Nigeria is home to both the savanna and forest elephants, but these animals are critically endangered. There are about 100 individual elephants that are found in Yankari Game Reserve; however, this number is declining. In southern Nigeria, only a few forest elephants are found, mostly in isolated populations.
These animals also face challenges like being hunted for their ivory, meat, and other body parts. They are also threatened by agriculture and infrastructural development. The forestry law (2004) is one of the laws that helps protect these animals. NIGERIAN DWARF CROCODILE
The Nigerian dwarf crocodile can only be found in freshwater swamps, marshes, lake edges, and lake shore vegetation. Historically, dwarf crocodiles used to be widely spread in west and central Africa, but now their population has significantly declined due to threats.
The population status of these animals is quite difficult to get but is considered very vulnerable to trade, hunting for its meat, and habitat loss. Forestry law (2004) also protects the habitats of the Nigerian dwarf crocodile. In addition, some zoos are trying to breed the Nigerian dwarf crocodile to help conserve the species.
Conclusion, Overhunting an animal isn't good because it could wipe that species from existence and would only be told in stories and seen in pictures.Thank you for reading.
Cc,
@steem.ofanimals
sad. but that's the law of nature the strong survive, whether it's through hunting or environmental factors. and weak always suffer.
Exactly because sometimes it's two sided. One must survive to make another dead. Some Humans eat meat as daily survival in Nigeria because of the rate of hunger. Anyways. That's life for you. Thanks for your comment. I appreciate.