Hippo sanctuary underway in Gombe
Following perennial crop destruction by hippopotamuses in Dadinkowa, Yalmatu Deba local government area of Gombe State. The State is set to partner a conservationist cooperation to save the the wildlife.
Speaking in Gombe, Governor, Muhammadu reiterated his administration’s resolve to harness ecotourism opportunities available in the state towards boosting responsible travel to natural areas.
He made this disclosure when he played host to Prof. Lynne Baker, a United States-based wildlife conservationist and senior research associate at the Institute for Development, Ecology, Conservation and Cooperation, IDECC.
IDECC is an organisation working in fields of environmental conservation and sustainable development in regions of the world, with special emphasis on West African countries.
Yahaya commended the wildlife conservationist for taking special interest towards safeguarding the environment and promoting ecotourism. He assured of his administration’s willingness to partner her institute towards unlocking the potentials in that sub-sector of the economy.
He said, “What you have done is like opening our eyes to see the potentials that we have in ecotourism and wildlife conservation. So I will like to thank you most profoundly on behalf of the Government and good people of Gombe State.
“I also will give you the assurance that we shall provide the enabling environment on which you will carry out your work so that you can give us more ideas on how best we can approach the issue at stake and benefit from the opportunities therein.”
Yahaya added, “This is a symbiotic relationship that we must keep in the interest of our people, especially those living within the bank of the Dadinkowa river. Much as we protect the endangered species, we must also protect our people from the dreaded animals which are known for destroying farm crops and hindering fishing activities within the area. Hence the need for creating a colony for them cannot be overemphasised.”
Speaking earlier, The US based wildlife researcher, Baker said she was in the state to undertake study on the population of hippopotamus within the Dadinkowa river axis, the challenges facing the endangered species and to create awareness.
“Hippopotamus is not common in Nigeria, it is considered a threatened specie in Africa and in the East and South of Africa they are more common but in the West of Africa they are not common, thereby making this location very unique and somewhat makes Gombe famous for this population of hippopotamus.”
She added described the Dadinkowa Dam as a site with huge potentials in wildlife and birds diversity, stressing that her research will be a launching pad for the development of ecotourism in particular and the Dadinkowa community in general.
She added that the measure would also help boost socio-economic activities of the area, as there would be no challenge of hippos grazing or destroying crops or preventing fishing activities.
On her part, Commissioner for Environment and Forest Resources, Dr. Hussaina Goje, said Baker had toured the Dadinkowa dam site and criss-crossed 3 local government areas with a view to getting first hand information on the population of hippopotamus in the area.
” The objective of Professor Lynne’s coming is to get us to have an estimate of the number of hippopotamus at the colonies, provide capacity for our wildlife staff and to create awareness to the local community as well as attract international attention,” she added.
