Conservation stories | Africa
One local dam houses half the hippo population attributed to all of Nigeria
Chances are this is not the only unlisted population of hippos in the country
Until last summer, the population of hippopotamuses in Nigeria was estimated to be around 100 individuals in the whole country. That was before a team of scientists decided to check out one particular local dam, following some reports of hippos living in the area.
Kiri Dam is outside of any protected area, and it is surrounded by villages. Not ideal for a thriving hippo population. Yet, the researchers found 56 hippos living in this one dam!
The population in this single dam reservoir is the largest recorded hippo population in all of Nigeria (and it was not included in the previous 100 individuals estimate). The authors doubt the population of hippos in Kiri Dam is, in fact, the largest in the country. Still, without surveys of other water bodies in Nigeria, it is impossible to know.
Hippos used to be common in waters across Africa, but the loss and fragmentation of habitat have left their populations scattered across rivers and lakes in the continent.
Hippos are vulnerable to extinction according to IUCN’s Red List of Threatened Species. Unfortunately, it is hard to know how they are doing without all of the relevant data. This “find” of 56 hippos is a reminder of the importance of collecting data and including non-protected areas in conservation research and work.
Thanks to the team of mostly Nigeria-based scientists, we now have accurate data on the hippo population in this area. This, in turn, allows for better monitoring and potential conservation actions, such as human-wildlife conflict mitigation.
