Phenological Stage of the Destruction of Crops by Wild Animals Around Mont Sangbé National Park, Western Côte d'Ivoire

Côte d'Ivoire is a West African country with a wealth of important forest resources. Protected areas have been created in the country to protect some flora and fauna. People living near protected areas tend to grow in them, resulting in conflicts between humans and animals. The animals destroy crop fields at different phenological stages of development. However, there is little scientific information on this phenomenon in protected areas. To address this problem, a study was carried out to find out the phenological stage of the destruction of crops by wild animals around Mont Sangbé National Park in Côte d'Ivoire. The study surveyed 120 farmers in three villages near the park to determine the frequency of damage to the crops by animals. The Generalized Linear Model (GLM) was used to fine the relationship between plant destruction and destructive animals. The study identified 26 crop pests, 17 of which caused damage. These pests threatened 16 crops, and eight were likely to be destroyed. Crop damage occurred in all stages of development, from seedling emergence to fruit production, but mainly during fruit production. These findings are important to policymakers and practitioners to guide the design of crop protection measures in protected areas. Furthermore, these results may have broader implications for the development of predictive models for interactions between humans and wildlife.