TITLE:
Impact of Anthropogenic Activities on the Abundance of Crocodylus suchus (Saint-Hilaire 1807) within the Nazinga Game Ranch, Burkina Faso
AUTHORS:
Ilassa Ouedraogo, Adama Oueda, M. Emmanuel Hema, Matthew H. Shirley, B. Gustave Kabre
KEYWORDS:
Crocodylus suchus, Abundance, Human Activities, Protected Area, Burkina Faso
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Ecology,
Vol.12 No.12,
December
27,
2022
ABSTRACT: In Burkina Faso, human activities are practiced in Nazinga Game Ranch (NGR) which is colonized by West African crocodiles Crocodylus suchus (Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire 1807) decades ago. This study which aims to estimate impact of anthropogenic activities on abundance of C. suchus has been conducted in NGR reservoirs. For data collection, C. suchus populations were counted morning, afternoon and night from October 2015 to May 2017 in 11 reservoirs. Binoculars were used for remote observations and spotlight was used by night. According to the size of the sites and its accessibility, direct observations were carried out on foot or by canoe. Every time we observed crocodiles, they were numbered and added information such as their size, their behavior, geographical coordinates and the type of habitat were collected. Human activities were noted after direct observations. The R software version 3.5.3 was used for data analysis. A total of 1849 crocodiles including hatchlings, juveniles, subadults and adults were counted in these 11 reservoirs of the NGR. They were more abundant in reservoirs than rivers with highest abundances in Akalon, Akwazena, Kalieboulou and Barka. Crocodile showed very high visibility at night their abundances showed important correlation with human activities and environmental factors such as roads, fishing, tourism, moon phases and “died crocodiles” and in NGR.