Page 1 of 10

Journal for Studies in Management and Planning

Available at http://internationaljournalofresearch.org/index.php/JSMaP

e-ISSN: 2395-0463

Volume 01 Issue 03

April 2015

Available online: http://internationaljournalofresearch.org/ P a g e | 522

Frog Consumption Pattern in Ibadan, Nigeria

Akinyemi, A. F. and Efenakpo Dean Ogaga

Department of Wildlife and Ecotourism Management, University of Ibadan,

Nigeria abiodun.akinyemi@hotmail.com

ABSTRACT

This study was carried out to investigate the

consumption pattern of frog meat in Ibadan.

Two local government areas in Ibadan city;

Akinyele and Ibadan north were randomly

selected for the study. Structured

questionnaires, field observation test and

personal interviews were used for the study.

Two sets of questionnaires were purposively

administered to two categories of

respondents in the study area. The first set of

questionnaire was administered to all frog

sellers available at the markets in the study

area. The second set of questionnaire was

administered randomly to 50 frog consumers

each from the two local government areas.

In all 27 frog traders and 100 frog

consumers were interviewed in the study

area. Data obtained were analysed using

descriptive statistics. The study revealed that

a total of 100 frog meat consumers sampled

in the study areas acquired about 284752

frogs and consumed 126672 various frog

species annually and that commercialization

of frogs was more in urban (Arisekola and

Bodija) but consumption rate on account of

the 100 consumers sampled was higher in

Ijaiye (rural area). The 27 frog sellers

sampled had a total of 53.5 bags of frog in

their possession at the time of survey.

Hildebrandtia ornate, Hoplobatrachus

occipitalis, Ptychadena pumilio and

Pyxicephalus edulis used for food together

with Bufo pentoni, Ptychadena

mascareniensis, Tomopterna cryptotis and

Amietophrynus regularis used for medicine

and mythic were the eight predominately

consumed frogs species in the study area.

Hoplobatrachus occipitalis mostly utilized

for food is the most commercialized species,

because of its large size and availability.

Frog meat serves as a good source of protein

and income for the inhabitants. But the

unsustainable use of these edible frog

species would have a detrimental effect on

the ecosystem. Hence frog farming and

conservation efforts must be encouraged.

Keywords: Frogs, Overexploitation,

Consumption, Non-consumptive use ,

Ibadan

INTRODUCTION

Frogs are transitional animals that

live partly in water and on land, striking a

balance between the two environments; they

belong to the class of vertebrates known as

amphibians (Omonona and Ekpenko, 2011).

They are amphibians in the order Anura

(meaning ‘‘tail-less’’ from Greek an- without; oura, tail), formerly referred to as

Salientia (Latin salere (salio), “to jump”).

The order Anura is the largest of amphibians

containing 5450 species in 48 families (Vitt

and Caldwell, 2009).

Page 2 of 10

Journal for Studies in Management and Planning

Available at http://internationaljournalofresearch.org/index.php/JSMaP

e-ISSN: 2395-0463

Volume 01 Issue 03

April 2015

Available online: http://internationaljournalofresearch.org/ P a g e | 523

Amphibian populations are declining

worldwide; overexploitation is identified as

one of the reasons for the worldwide

amphibian decline (Stuart et al., 2004 and

2008). Niasse et al., (2004) stated that

utilization is the main threat for 281

amphibians species, 54% of these already

listed as vulnerable, endangered or critically

endangered when IUCN Red List categories

are applied. A recent study by Warketin et

al., (2009) summarized alarming data on

numbers of Asian frogs collected for human

consumption while Mohneke (2011)

revealed that a total of two million, seven

hundred and thirty eight thousand six

hundred and ten (2,738,610) various frog

species were collected by thirty two (32)

frog collectors annually in south-west states

of Nigeria.

One of the major obvious effects of

human population increase at global level is

food shortage and Africa lies behind other

developing countries in food production

(Lameed, 2008). This has resulted in a

significant short fall between the production

and supply of animal protein to feed the ever

increasing population (Akpan et al., (2009).

In many African countries (such as Benin,

Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire,

Ghana, Guinea, Namibia, Nigeria, South

Africa and Togo) frogs have always been

collected on a local scale as an essential

source of animal protein (Angulo, 2008;

Mohneke et al., 2009). An increase in the

size of human population tends to increase

the existing pressure on wildlife populations.

Frog species mainly used for food,

medicinal purposes and pet trade in different

parts of the world are normally sourced from

the wild (Mohneke et al., 2011). Farming of

these utilized species of frogs in Africa and

the world as a whole has been generally

neglected whereas the rate of utilization is

continuously increasing.

Most of the frogs utilized in

developed countries are sourced from

developing countries. Consequently, the rate

of exportation of frogs (irrespective of the

conservation status) from developing to

developed countries has been increasing

because of the market created by the high

demand. Onadeko et al., (2011) reported

that frog legs were popular delicacy in

Europe and were even eaten in countries

where it is legally prohibited to hunt frogs.

In some regions of Asia (Indonesia) and

Africa (Nigeria), frogs are referred to as

“jumping chickens,” as the taste is perceived

to be similar to chicken (Altherr et al.,

2011). Their availability, palatability to

humans and the need to meet protein

demand are some of the major reasons why

billions of frogs are consumed annually.

Frogs are also collected for leather

production and souvenirs, pet trade and

cultural reasons, including traditional

medicine (Kusrini and Alford, 2006;

Gonwouo and Rodel, 2008). However,

overexploitation of these resources is one of

the major threats to biodiversity.

Within the past decade, frogs have

become an international trading item,

involving more than 30 countries, and in

1998 the trade on frog species was valued at

approximately USD 48.7 million (Teixeira

et al., 2001). Such exploitation without

planning for the sustainability of these

Page 3 of 10

Journal for Studies in Management and Planning

Available at http://internationaljournalofresearch.org/index.php/JSMaP

e-ISSN: 2395-0463

Volume 01 Issue 03

April 2015

Available online: http://internationaljournalofresearch.org/ P a g e | 524

amphibian species would have direct and

indirect impacts on both frog species and the

ecosystem. Amphibians are important

components in various terrestrial and aquatic

ecosystems and their reduction or

disappearance would have consequence

effect to the ecosystem and other relative

components (Toledo et al., 2007; Mohneke

and Rodel, 2009).

MATERIALS AND METHOD

The study areas were selected using

random sampling technique; two local

government areas; Akinyele and Ibadan

North (40.0%) were randomly selected from

the five local government areas in Ibadan

city. Ibadan city is geographically located on

latitude 7°23' 47'' N and longitude 3°55' 0''

E. Data for the study were obtained through

pre-tested semi-structured questionnaires,

in-depth interviews and field observations.

Two sets of pre-tested semi-structured

questionnaires were administered

purposively to two categories of

respondents. The first set of questionnaire

was administered to all frog sellers (traders)

available at the markets in each of the two

selected local government areas. The second

set of questionnaire was administered

randomly to 50 frog consumers each from

the two local government areas. In all 27

frog traders and 100 frog consumers were

interviewed in the study area while traders

involved in sales of frogs for medicinal

purposes were also interviewed. The

questionnaires were written in English to

avoid communication problems, all

interviews were carried out with the help of

field assistants who speaks the local

languages (Hausa and Yoruba). In general,

the questionnaires comprised questions

eliciting information on the

knowledge/experience the interviewees had

concerning utilization/consumption and

sales of frogs.

RESULTS

Demand and Consumption Rate of Frog

Meat

Results on the demand and

consumption rate of frog meat in Ibadan city

is presented in Table 1, Figure 1 and Figure

2. Table 1 and Figure 1, shows the quantity

of frogs the traders started with, the quantity

in their possession at the time of the survey,

the quantity they usually buy and the

quantity they wished for if they had more

money. Figure 1 reveal that

commercialization of frog meat was high at

Arisekola; where the sellers started the frog

market with 9 bags of frogs and had 16.5

bags of frogs in their possession at the time

of survey and was low at Ojoo; where the

frog sellers started the frog market with 2

bags of frogs and had 4 bags of frogs in their

possession at the time of survey and on

cumulative bases, the entire traders (100%)

started the frog market with 27 bags of

frogs. Although the entire sellers (100%)

acquired a total of 58.5 bags of frogs from

various frog markets, only 53.5 bags were in

their possession at the time of survey. The

traders also showed a great deal of willing to

boast their frog market to a total of 120 bags

on an average of four bags of frogs per

seller, if they had more money. Table 1, also

reveal the quantity of frog meat consumers

acquired at once (5476 pieces), quantity