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Hunted animals
Van Dijk (1999) reported a number of 40 mammals as being hunted. The prioritisation of
hunted animals in the present study concerned only the most solicited species and not all
species. Farmers hunting activity is primarily in search of the following animal species:
Atherurus africanus (African bush-tailed porcupine), Cephalophus monticola (Blue duiker),
Cephalophus dorsalis (Bay duiker), Cercopithecus nictitants (Greater white-noosed monkey),
Cercocebus cephus (Moustached monkey) and Cricetomys gambianus (Giant Gambian rat).
Prioritisation and farmers’ reasons of importance for these most solicited species are given in
Table 2.14. Atherurus africanus comes in first position, followed by Cephalophus monticola,
then Cephalophus dorsalis, and in fourth and fifth position, Cercopithecus nictitans /
Cercocebus cephus and Cricetomys gambianus respectively.
Table 2.14. Most solicited hunted animal species.
Scientific name English name
(Bulu name)
Atherurus africanus African bush-tailed
porcupine (Ngom)
Rank
Fr. Cum.
(%)
Reasons of importance
1 41 Increasing local
consumption and diverse
revenues
Cephalophus monticola Blue duiker (Okpweng) 2 33 Increasing local
consumption and diverse
revenues
Cephalophus dorsalis Bay duiker (So) 3 43 Local consumption and
revenues
Cercopithecus nictitans /
Cercocebus cephus
Greater white-noosed
monkey / Moustached
monkey (Evembe / osok)
4 38 High revenues and
consumption;
large solicitations
Cricetomys gambianus Giant Gambian rat (kosi) 5 26 Locale consumption, easy
to capture
2.3.5 Farmers' agricultural production priorities
Priority activities
Crop production remains the first priority activity for all farmers. It is the most important
because the produce of this activity has many destinations: consumption in many forms and
diverse revenues. Animal husbandry was ranked the second priority activity, although just one
third of the farmers ranked it as such. This low figure shows that the activity is somehow
neglected. In third position comes fishing, but the produce is mostly for consumption and very
little is for revenue. In fourth position comes palm wine tapping, which is a permanent source of
consumption and revenue, but the quantity is limited due to the problem of conservation.
Gathering wild fruits comes in fifth position followed by hunting in sixth and oil palm
exploitation in seventh position (Table 2.15).
Table 2.15. Farmers’ priority activities
Major activities Rank Frequency of
ranking (%)
Reasons of importance
Crop production 1 92 Diverse consumption and revenues
Animal husbandry 2 29 Guests reception, dowry, ceremonies
Fishing 3 35 Local consumption, little revenue
Palm wine tapping 4 45 Consumption and unstained revenues
Wild fruits collection 5 22 Seasonal consumption and revenues
Hunting 6 32% Diverse consumption and revenues
Palm oil extraction 7 48 Simple local consumption
Sample size n = 200
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