Analysis of Variance in Food Preference For Enhanced Captive Rearing of Crocodilus nilotica

John A Ogbodo¹*, Mike T Iwar² and Mohammed Adeyemi¹

¹Department of Forestry and Wildlife, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria
²Department of Wildlife and Range Management, Federal University of Agriculture Makurdi, Nigeria

*Corresponding Author: John A Ogbodo, Department of Forestry and Wildlife, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria.

Received: July 14, 2021; Published: September 15, 2021

Abstract

  Crocodilus nilotica (Nile crocodiles) play important roles in maintaining ecosystem structures and functions in the World. However, crocodiles are among the many aquatic wildlife species that risk extinction because of the high demand of their skins and flesh in both local and international markets. Captive rearing of Nile crocodile (Crocodilus niloticus) could contribute to their sustainable populations and consumption by both present and future human generations. The overall objective of this study was to determine the alternative food preference of Nile crocodiles towards enhancing their captive rearing for increased populations. The feeding behaviour of four Nile crocodiles (Crocodylus niloticus) comprising of three juveniles (six-month old) and one adult (26-month-old) was observed for a period of eight weeks in captivity. The three juveniles had average body weight of 44g each (23.50 cm long) and the sub-adult weighed 108g with 34 cm body length). The Nile crocodiles were randomly placed in four treatments (plastic tanks): E1, E2, E3 and E4. They were fed on four animal protein diets: (a) poultry offal; (b) lizard meat; (c) toad meat; and (d) a balanced mixture of: a, b, and c sources. Feeding was done twice per week: morning - the first day; and evening - the second day in the treatment week. The amounts of diets introduced and consumed during treatments were weighed every two hours of experimentation. Diet and consumption time analyses were performed (in mean ± standard deviation) and the outcomes were further subjected to a one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) statistics. The results show that the diets supplied were consumed at the average total rates of 589.20g ± 8.288 (lizard meat), 574.50g ± 16.903 (toad meat) and 434.20 ± 17.168 (poultry offal). There were no significant differences among treatment effects and in the time of consumption at confident levels of 0.05 and 0.01; 0.05, respectively. This study concludes that poultry intestines are strange to Nile crocodiles while lizard meat is the most preferred animal protein and followed by toad meat during the captive rearing of Nile crocodiles. The study recommends that poultry offal should be used as food supplements smallholder and commercial rearing of Nile crocodiles for improved productivity and social livelihoods.

Keywords: Alternative Diet; Crocodilus nilotica; Captive Rearing; Consumption Time; Feeding Treatment.

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Citation

Citation: John A Ogbodo., et al. “Analysis of Variance in Food Preference For Enhanced Captive Rearing of Crocodilus nilotica". Acta Scientific Agriculture 5.10 (2021): 05-11.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2021 John A Ogbodo., et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.