By Abdullahi Lukman
Many wildlife species in Nigeria are facing increasing risk of extinction as deforestation, illegal wildlife trade, hunting and habitat loss continue to threaten their survival, according to global conservation assessments.
Data from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List show that several animals found in Nigeria are classified globally as endangered, critically endangered or vulnerable.
The country’s Endangered Species (Control of International Trade and Traffic) Act, enacted in 1985, also lists many of these animals for protection.
The law divides protected wildlife into two categories.
Species in the First Schedule are considered threatened with extinction and cannot be hunted, captured or traded.
Those in the Second Schedule may be traded only under strict regulation to prevent them from becoming endangered.
Nigeria is also a signatory to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), an international agreement that regulates cross-border trade in wildlife and wildlife products such as ivory, pangolin scales and exotic birds.
Among the most threatened animals in Nigeria are rare primates, large carnivores, marine mammals and reptiles.
The Nigeria–Cameroon chimpanzee, the rarest chimpanzee subspecies in the world, lives mainly in forest areas along the Nigeria–Cameroon border, including Gashaka-Gumti National Park.
The species is classified as endangered due to habitat destruction and hunting.
The Cross River gorilla, considered the world’s rarest gorilla subspecies, is critically endangered.
Only about 100 to 250 mature individuals remain in the wild, mainly in isolated forests near the Nigeria–Cameroon border such as Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary and Cross River National Park. Habitat loss, development and hunting remain major threats.
Another critically endangered primate, the Niger Delta red colobus, survives only in the marsh forests of the Niger Delta, especially in parts of Bayelsa State. Oil exploration, logging and forest degradation have placed the species among the world’s most threatened monkeys.
Sclater’s monkey, found only in southern Nigeria, survives partly because of traditional beliefs in some communities in Anambra and Akwa Ibom states that consider the animal sacred and forbid harming it.
Other threatened primates include the drill and mandrill, whose populations have declined sharply due to deforestation and hunting for bushmeat. Global estimates suggest around 4,000 mature drills remain in the wild.
Large mammals are also under pressure. Forest elephants, once widespread in Nigeria’s rainforests, are now critically endangered due to poaching for ivory and habitat destruction.
Smaller than savannah elephants, they are found mainly in dense forests such as those in Okomu National Park and Cross River.
Nigeria’s lion population has also declined drastically. Fewer than 50 adult West African lions are believed to remain in the country, mainly in Kainji Lake National Park and Yankari Game Reserve, due to habitat loss, poaching and conflicts with humans.
Leopards, once common across Nigeria’s forests and savannahs, have also declined sharply as a result of habitat fragmentation, illegal wildlife trade and bushmeat hunting.
The African wild dog, one of the continent’s most endangered carnivores, has also seen its population fall significantly because of habitat loss and human conflict.
In Nigeria’s waterways, the West African manatee faces threats from illegal hunting, fishing nets, boat collisions and the damming of rivers.
Several crocodile species in the country, including the slender-snouted crocodile, Nile crocodile and African dwarf crocodile, are also protected due to declining populations linked to habitat destruction and hunting.
Bird species are also affected.
The Ibadan malimbe, a small bird found only in southwestern Nigeria, particularly in Oyo State, is estimated to have a population between 1,000 and 9,000 individuals, with numbers believed to be declining because of ongoing forest clearing.
Marine wildlife along Nigeria’s coast is also at risk.
Several sea turtle species, including the leatherback and hawksbill turtles, migrate through or nest in the country’s coastal waters but face threats from coastal development, fishing nets, plastic pollution and egg poaching.
Large marine animals such as whale sharks and sperm whales also pass through the Gulf of Guinea.
Whale sharks are classified as endangered while sperm whales are listed as vulnerable due to population declines caused by fishing nets and vessel strikes.
In recent years, Nigeria has taken steps to strengthen wildlife protection laws.
The Endangered Species Act was amended in 2016 to increase penalties for wildlife crimes, raising the fine for killing a First Schedule species from ₦1,000 to ₦5 million.
Lawmakers have also moved to tighten protections further. In October 2025, the Senate passed the Endangered Species Conservation and Protection Bill, 2024, which is awaiting presidential assent.
The proposed law would introduce tougher penalties, including fines of up to ₦12 million and prison sentences of up to 10 years for wildlife traffickers.
