'Reasons to have a Career in Wildlife

Beyond the hyped careers within the fuel and petrol industries lay certain positions that require morality and caring thought. Careers within the wildlife sector of the economy are viewed as almost esoteric due to a lack of concern, while wildlife is greatly neglected due to the high demands of Africa’s natural resources such as its natural gases, fuel, and minerals.

The wildlife of Nigeria contains immense diversity. Nigeria has over 290 species of mammals and 940 species of birds.

Home to Africa's largest human population and its second largest economy, Nigeria has also retained vibrant wilderness. The country's forest and savannah parks and wetlands rank among the continent’s most important. Nigeria’s rural populations depend on agriculture for their livelihoods, eking out a living on typically small farms, many of which are expanding into previously remote, forested areas. This pronounced expansion in Nigeria is causing habitat fragmentation and inevitable human-wildlife conflicts. Nigeria’s biologically diverse landscape encompasses lowland and mountain rainforests, mangroves, swamps, and mountain grasslands. Yet the proliferation of subsistence farms and large-scale timber harvesting is bad news for native wildlife, particularly the African elephant and the extremely rare Cross River gorilla. Gorillas and elephants need large, continuous ranges to survive.

Conservation efforts in Nigeria have, in recent years, focused on consolidating and protecting habitats, such as the lush Afi and Mbe mountain chains, which link Nigeria’s Cross River National Park with the Takamanda-Mone Forest in neighboring Cameroon. But protected areas are not immune to farm expansion, which is challenging conservationists to find a sustainable and appropriate balance.

Africa as a continent is known for its richness of resources and exotic animals, which some are now endangered. Due to the demand for products and materials produced with animals, poachers slaughter them recklessly for wealth. A conservationist and an advocate for wildlife preservation, Tunde Folawiyo, believes that acts of greed, such as poaching elephants for its ivory, results in such great damage to the wildlife that isn’t worth it at the end. Famous literary works such as the novella, Heart of Darkness, reveals the devastating results of harming animals for wealth in regards to both animal and nature, and human morality. The circle of life should be left untouched and undisturbed, especially in a country where nature and its resources are so bountiful and are what sustains the nation. A career in the wildlife earns more than merely money, but the lives and quality of nature in which deserves to be preserved and protected.

With the views of conservationists such as Tunde Folawiyo’s, be aware that there are career openings for dedicated and motivated wildlife preservers. For example, there is currently an opening for the position of ‘Wildlife Officer’ for the Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF), which requires a set of skills in regards to wildlife and nature such as: a degree in natural sciences, years of working experience in a protected area or ecotourism centre, oral and writing skills, fair knowledge of the names of plants and animals, physical and mental fitness, etc.