The Borno state government says there is no presence of elephants in the Sambisa forest.
The Director, of Forestry and Wildlife in the Ministry of Environment, Mr Ayuba Peter, said that the last survey made by the government regarding the presence of elephants in the forest showed that there was none.
“We conducted a survey before the Boko Haram insurgency and found that its population has been depleted by activities of poachers.
“We used to have a herd of elephants in Sambisa forest, but due to poaching and other habitat destruction, we have lost them.
“When we started having reports of their incursions from a neighbouring Cameroon forest into Borno, through Gamboru/Ngala and Kala-Balge axis, we were excited.
“Our hope was that they would proceed to Sambisa forest and probably find a more habitable place.
“So far, they have continued to roam around the border areas destroying farmlands but without moving down to Sambisa,” Peter said.
According to the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), elephants face an uncertain future in Nigeria.
“Once widespread across the whole country, elephants have declined by more than 50% in less than 20 years and it is certain that fewer than savanna elephants survive across the country today. Most of the remaining elephant populations are small, fragmented and probably not viable in the long term.
“Reliable up to date information about many of these small herds is generally lacking. However, it is known that a small herd of elephants survives in the region around Kwiambana Game Reserve and Kamuku National Park in northern Nigeria. Small migratory groups of elephants may still move between Nigeria and the Baban Rafi forest in Niger, between Faro National Park in Cameroon and Gashaka-Gumti National Park in Nigeria and between Waza National Park in Cameroon and Chad Basin National Park in Nigeria though these movements are unconfirmed.”
NAN
