Solving Crocodile Shortage in Nigeria With Crocodile Farming

Recent reports that the international demand for crocodile skin is leading to the Nile crocodile being in danger of extinction in Nigeria need some evaluation and would in any case be easily solved through the farming of crocodiles.

There have been a number of news stories (Agence France Presse, Red Orbit) about Ismail Dauda, the crocodile and python skin tanner of Kano in northern Nigeria. He is reportedly processing up to 20,000 skins (crocodile & python) a month. His comment that crocodiles are now harder to source than ten years ago and discussions with conservationists lead to the conclusion that crocodiles “might soon face extinction in Nigeria” if the authorities do start to control this mainly illegal trade.

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Is the production of 20,000 skins a month really possible

In May 2008, Leather International reported the world market for Nile Crocodile skins to be around 150,000 skins a year with Zimbabwe, South Africa and Zambia accounting for a minimum of 145,000 of these. This doesn’t tie in with the minimum of 50,000 a year that Dauda would be expected to export based on the monthly production quoted.

If Dauda is tanning 20,000 skins a month, at an average value of $100 a skin, he would have an annual turnover of $ 24 million a year which isn’t evident from the images. South Africa’s export sales of crocodile skins is only 10.5 Million dollars a year. Another thought is that 20,000 a month skins implies the processing of 1,000 a day which is quite a stunning number.

is there really a threat of extinction in Nigeria

If the large numbers tanned are any measure of availability it would seem to indicate that there is not a critical lack of crocodiles and they are surely not close to extinction.

The reports are not very exact, but it seems that the Nile crocodile which has a higher value skin is much scarcer than the dwarf West African crocodile, which might be supporting the crocodile skin business in Nigeria.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) Red List classifies the Nile crocodile as Lower Risk/least concern although it notes that the rating should be updated as it may be threatened in parts of its range.

Crocodile farming can keep the tannery going

There is only a single sentence in the stories that mentions crocodile farming, which would be a possible way for Dauda to ensure supply to his tannery. But it is dismissed by a statement that crocodiles do not reproduce before 5 years of age and that farmers therefore must wait ten to 15 years to get a return on whatever they might invest.

There is, however, a solution that has been proven in South Africa. A crocodile farm can be established based on buying crocodile eggs hatchlings. This gives the farmer their first shins after 18 to 30 months and allows the them to start the business and then expand into the complete breeding cycle as their cash flow allows.

So what would a Nigerian crocodile farm entail

In South Africa it is believed a farm needs to produce 2,000 skins a year to be viable. However, many farmers are producing fewer and the break even is very dependent on location and situation. An integrated farming and tanning business could be more profitable.

A particular advantage of farming crocodiles in Nigeria, which could make smaller units viable, is the climate. Two of the major costs of raising crocodiles in South Africa are the need to warm the breeding pens of young crocodiles when the temperature drops below 30 C and the large water consumption which would be in the order of 25,000 l/year/skin. For crocodile farming outside of the KwaZulu Natal area, where there are more viable farming options, this is a major problem as winter day temperatures are below 20°C with nights below 10°C and water is a scarce resource.

In practice the environment is controlled up until the crocodile is about a year old, when the crocodiles are too large to be kept inside warmed buildings and the time the crocodile takes to reach maturity is effected by the temperatures.

This then appears to be a real opportunity if crocodile farming is not practiced in Nigeria as is stated by the stories. Interested parties in Nigeria would maybe benefit from contacting The South African Crocodile Farming Association.

Photo by Dewet on Wikimedia Commons under a Creative Commons license.

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