Wild and Range management

An investigation of the medicinal values of manatee was undertaken among communities living along the banks of the lower Benue River in Benue State, Nigeria. The method of obtaining data was the use of a structured questionnaire and interview schedule with fishermen among three communities along the river. One hundred and forty five responses were received. The result indicate that 33.8% of the respondents fell under the age bracket of 56-65, the highest and average of respondents was the average number of years engaged in fishing along the river was and 30.3% of the respondents had been fishing along the river for between 26-35 years. Out of the 145 respondents, 50 had killed manatees within the past three decades, given a total of 54 manatees killed within the period. All the respondents listed seven body parts used in treating a total of 14 illnesses or enhancements.

ABSTRACT
An investigation of the medicinal values of manatee was undertaken among communities living along the banks of the lower Benue River in
Benue State, Nigeria.
The method of obtaining data was the use of a structured questionnaire and interview schedule with fishermen among three communities along the river. One hundred and forty five responses were received. The result indicate that 33.8% of the respondents fell under the age bracket of 56-65, the highest and average of respondents was the average number of years engaged in fishing along the river was and 30.3% of the respondents had been fishing along the river for between 26-35 years. Out of the 145 respondents, 50 had killed manatees within the past three decades, given a total of 54 manatees killed within the period. All the respondents listed seven body parts used in treating a total of 14 illnesses or enhancements.

Spatial evaluation of the physico-Chemical parameters of River Benue in relation to the habitat requirements of west African Manatee  were conducted. The river was divided into four segments; Makurdi, Abinsi, Gbajimba and Gbaji. In each segment, ten (10) sample points were randomly selected and the following parameters; Temperature, Dissolved Oxygen (DO), pH, Total dissolved solid, (TDS) Electrical conductivity (EC) and Biological oxygen demand (BOD) were measured. Data collected was subjected to statistical analysis.  The result indicated that there were significant differences in the pH, Electrical conductivity, and Biological oxygen demand (BOD) among the four study areas.The result also indicated significant differences between the rainy season and dry season conditions of the water body.The result indicated that Manatees were highly adaptable to the physico-chemical differences between the rainy season and the dry season.