The African Spurred tortoise and threats of extinction.

The African spurred tortoise is one of Nigeria’s most endangered species.It is vigorously hunted and used for several cultural and commercial purposes. A few surviving ones are preserved in protected areas such as the national parks and zoos .

According to an ARKive report, The African spurred tortoise (Centrochelys sulcata) is the largest tortoise of the African mainland, and is surpassed in size only by the giant island species from Aldabra and Galápagos . This desert-dwelling tortoise is well camouflaged by its overall sandy coloration, having thick golden to yellow-brown skin and a brownish carapace . The African spurred tortoise has a broad, oval carapace which displays prominent serrations at the front and back margins and conspicuous growth rings on each scute, which become particularly marked with age . Large, overlapping scales cover the front surface of the forelimbs, while the hind surface of the thigh bears two or three large conical spurs, from which the species earns its name. African spurred tortoise populations have declined rapidly in the face of habitat loss, particularly in Mali, Chad, Niger and Ethiopia, largely as a result of urbanisation, overgrazing by domestic livestock and desertification. Several ethnic groups in the Sahel, especially nomadic tribes, eat the African spurred tortoise. The already vulnerable position of the species has been compounded in recent years by an increase in capture for international trade, as pets and for body parts reportedly used to make longevity potions in Japan.  It is primarily juvenile African spurred tortoises that are captured for trade and, as this species takes 15 years to reach maturity, there is grave concern that generations in the wild may be unable to renew themselves, resulting in extinction of local population.

DNA BARCODING TO INCREASE AUTHENTICITY OF MEDICINAL PLANTS

The need and use of medicinal plants in Nigeria is growing at a tremendous rate. Whether for food or as medicines for ailments ranging from common cold, malaria and even  more complicated health problems such as hypertension and diabetes, Nigerians of all ages and classes find it easier to consume the herbal remedies produced from medicinal plant.

Picture of Herbarium at the National Parks Service, Abuja, Nigeria. Taken by Comfort Ndefo

The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines traditional medicine as the

sum total of all the knowledge and practical, whether explicable or not, used in the diagnosis, prevention and elimination of physical, mental or social imbalance and relying exclusively on practical experience and observation handed down from generation to generation, whether verbally or in writing. Traditional medicine might also be considered as a solid amalgamation of dynamic medical know how and ancestral experience.

 These traditional medicines are adjudged as potent by their users.  However , oftentimes, problems arise from consumption of  either overdose, under dose or even some natural toxins within the plant due lack of scientific information of the components of the plant.

According to, a postdoctoral fellow and College of Arts & Sciences alumni, Dr. Allan Showalter, “Misidentifications or adulteration of authenticated materials can lead to reduced effectiveness of herbal products or accidental poisonings. Barcoding provides a way to confirm the identification of raw plant material and establish a level of quality assurance.

The DNA Barcoding is an exciting new tool for taxonomic research. The   DNA barcode is a very short, standardized DNA sequence in a well-known gene. It provides a way to identify the species to which a plant belongs.

Barcoding is generating a global, open access library of reference barcode sequence which enables non-taxonomists to identify specimens.

Roan Antelope Hunted by Poachers

The Roan Antelope is one of the animals commonly hunted by poachers in Nigeria. So many are being killing and traded by the bush meat merchants . Skin and Head of Roan Antelope Unfortunately , sometimes the animal is already killed before the security operatives of the National parks get there. The Roan Antelope formerly occurred very widely in the savanna woodlands and grasslands of sub-Saharan Africa, but has been eliminated from large parts of its former range. Remarkably, the species remains locally common in West and Central Africa, while in East and southern Africa, the traditional antelope strongholds, the species is now very rare. The species is now locally extinct in Burundi, Eritrea and possibly Gambia. It was also eliminated from Swaziland and later reintroduced to the privately owned Mkhaya Nature Reserve. The Roan Antelope has been eliminated from large parts of its former range because of poaching and loss of habitat to the expansion of settlement, and now survives mainly in and around protected areas and in other areas with low densities of people and livestock. Its persistence in West Africa is probably due to its ability to withstand illegal hunting pressures better than many other large herbivores, especially the more water dependant and more sedentary species which are more exposed to poaching (East 1999; Chardonnet and Crosmary in press).

West African Crowned Crane gradually diminishing in Nigeria.

The West African Crowned Crane (Balearica pavonina)is number 58 on the Nigerian list of priority endangered species.It forms part of the documented species in  the global open access library being generated by the DNA barcoding initiative.

When the Endangered Fights Back.

Picture of Broken Head of an Antelope that killed a driver who ran into it while crossing a road in one of the National parks in Nigeria. The Antelope broke its head and died with the man that caused the accident.Antelopes are one of the most endangered species in Nigeria. It is usually hunted by the bush meat traders and poachers. Little wonder, they become violent in any encounter with a perceived attacker.

Cross River Bush Baby (Galago cameronensis)Tops Nigeria’s list.

Top on the priority list of Nigeria’s over two hundred most endangered species, submitted for the Barcode of Wildlife Project is the Cross River Bush Baby (Galago cameronensis).

It is a species of primate in the Galagidae family. It lives in southeastern Nigeria and also found in neighbouring northwestern Camaroun.Its head and body length is 7 inches with a 10 inch tail. It is a nocturnal animal; it carries out its activities in the night and sleeps during the day. Nocturnal creatures generally have highly developed senses of hearing and smell, and specially adapted eyesight. It is one of the most endangered species in Sub-Saharan Africa, where a lot of primates are hunted for bush meat trade.
The Nigerian endangered species list is part of the fulfillment of set goals of the Barcode of Wildlife Project to create a public library and data base of 10,000 species for use by regulatory agencies, enforcement agencies and scientists in determining forensic evidence in wildlife crimes.

Beyond the Bush Meat Trade-DNA Barcoding profers Solutions

Like most African countries, indiscriminate trade and consumption of bush meat is very common. Most major markets in the country have the bush meat openly displayed for sale. Hunters kill gorillas, primates and all kinds of wild animals available to them either as a cultural feat or for commercial purposes .At the point of sale the animals are already killed, processed and sometimes dried or ground to powder, thereby making it difficult to identify by mere physical observation.

The Barcode of wild life project (BWP), initiated by the Consortium for the Barcode of Life (CBOL) is a new tool that enables law enforcement agents to distinguish bush meat in local markets gotten from endangered species.  

Though, trade in Bush meat is seen by some as a harmless commercial activity, it is illegal and has put over 90% of wild animals in Africa in danger of extinction. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) concluded on 3 March 1973 and entered into force after ratification by 10 States, on 1 July 1975; seeks to conserve biodiversity and contribute to its sustainable use by ensuring that no species of wild fauna or flora becomes or remains subject to unsustainable exploitation through international trade, thereby contributing to the significant reduction of the rate of biodiversity loss. Nigeria is a party to the Cites regulations and as such employs all national and international laws and protocols open to her to fight wildlife crimes such as bush meat trade.

BWP to raise awareness that Poverty should not Justify Poaching

As far as Nigeria is concerned, poaching, at least, within the country is a crime committed predominantly by the poor and impoverished. This scenario with the sensibilities and sentiments surrounding it, sometimes sway the hand of justice to render mild penalties to offenders. As a result, experts advise that the Barcode of Wildlife Project should be used to create awareness on the extent of criminality practiced by poachers and the danger it poses to the environment. 

Some Poachers arrested by Park officials in South West, Nigeria

In a presentation, at the Legal Standards Workshop on DNA Barcoding evidence, held recently in Abuja, Nigeria; Barr. Godwin Ugwuja, the Legal officer of the Kainji National Park, Niger state of Nigeria, reported that most offenders prosecuted for wildlife crimes were poor and indigent fellows, who readily pleaded guilty and gave no room for contentions that could lead to forensic testing of samples.

In some of the cases the Magistrate either gave them lighter penalties or acquitted them on compassionate grounds. In a certain event, a notorious offender serving a jail term was released due to an intervention of a human rights activist who argued that a human being should not be so punished for killing an animal. However, the prosecuting lawyer reopened the case and based on existing laws, the offender was punished accordingly .This implies that the existing laws are sufficient for nipping the crime of poaching in the bud irrespective of who is committing it. 

  Poaching is traditionally defined as the illegally hunting, killing or capturing of wild animals, usually associated with land use rights. Until the 20^th century, mostly impoverished peasants poached for subsistence purposes, thus supplementing a scarce diet. By contrast, stealing domestic animals such as cattle raiding is considered theft, not poaching. Since the 1980s, the term poaching has also been used for the illegal harvest of wild animal and plant species.

In 1998, environmental scientists from the University of Massachusetts Amherst proposed the concept of poaching as an environmental crime, defining any activity as illegal that contravenes the laws and regulations established to protect renewable natural resources including the illegal harvest of wildlife with the intervention of possessing, transporting, consuming or selling it and using its body parts. They considered poaching as one of the most serious threats to the survival of plant and animal populations. Poaching is considered to have a detrimental effect on biodiversity both within and outside protected areas as wildlife populations decline, species are depleted locally, and the functionality of the ecosystem is disturbed.

In march 1973, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species(CITES),of Wild Fauna and Flora was signed in Washington D.C. and amended in June 1979 to Conserve biodiversity and contribute to its sustainable use by ensuring that no species of wild fauna or flora becomes or remains subject to unsustainable exploitation through international trade, thereby contributing to the significant reduction of the rate of biodiversity loss.

Nigeria is the first African country and infact the second country in the world to ratify CITES in 1974 and the desire and commitment of the Federal Government of Nigeria to take very seriously, the protection of  her rich fauna and flora gave rise to the creation of the  National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA)in 2007,  to enforce all environmental laws, standards  and regulation as well as enforce compliance with  provisions of all environmental conventions, aggreements and protocols to which Nigeria is party .