World’s smallest crocodile in high demand for bushmeat trade in Nigeria

A new study in BMC Zoology tracked sales of African dwarf crocodiles, the world's smallest crocodile species, across three bushmeat markets in Nigeria's Niger Delta. Over six months of surveys, researchers counted 158 crocodiles for sale, mostly adults, at prices as low as $7 to $10 for juveniles barely 10 centimeters long.

The species is listed as vulnerable but hasn't been formally reassessed by the IUCN in three decades, meaning conservation status is running on very old data. Researchers and ecologists interviewed say hunting, habitat loss from oil and gas development, and weak trade governance are compounding threats, with mostly reproductively mature animals being pulled from the wild.

All the vendors surveyed were women selling into a market with, by the researchers' own account, no coordination between government, conservationists, and local communities. Recommendations include a national monitoring program, though nobody quoted in the study explains who would fund or enforce it.

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