Okorafor Kalu A., Okete James A., Eleng Ituna E. and Odaibo Alex B.
A survey was carried out to determine seasonal variations in the mean body weight, length and number of cane rats captured or killed for sales in Ibadan and its environs in Oyo State, Nigeria. The data were collected from two processing slabs located in Odo-Ona, Kekere in Oluyole Local Government Area and Asejire in Egbeda Local Government Area between May 2007 and February 2008. A total of 6079 carcasses of grasscutters in ten months, were examined in the processing locations. The number of grasscutters caught was significantly higher (p<0.05) in the dry season (4521) than in the rainy season (1558). The mean body weight of the grasscutters were not significantly different (P >0.05) in the stock of carcasses examined in the two seasons. The males tend to weigh more (4.6kg and4.9kg) than the females (3.4kg and 3.6kg) in both seasons. There was a strong positive correlation between the body weight and standard length of the adult grasscutters carcasses in the two seasons. Grasscutters in the range of 0.5 – 1.4 kg were rarely caught in rainy season and only few were caught in dry season. The large sized grasscutters (8.0 – 8.4 kg) were caught in dry season and none was caught in rainy season. Accordingly, this study concludes that there were seasonal variations in the population of grasscutters captured through hunting.
