Ethnographie des conflits homme-hippopotame dans les départements de Tiassalé et Taabo en Côte d’Ivoire

There are many aquatic species in the Bandama River which crosses Ivory Coast. Among its species, there are hippos in the category of aquatic animals which have conflicts with humans in the living environment. The study which consists of carrying out an ethnography of conflicts in the departments of Taabo is mixed. The data was collected in the thirteen (13) villages adjoining the Bandama River. In total, thirteen (13) focus groups, twenty-two (22) individual interviews and field visits were carried out. There are more than one hundred and ninety (190) hippos in the area. The Taabo and Taboitien dam record the highest number of hippos. There are several types of human-hippo conflicts in the villages around the Bandama River and Taabo Dam. Hippos are the cause of enormous human and material damage in localities adjoining the Bandama River. But, because of international texts, populations cannot worry the animals in the waters which are considered their natural habitat. Several natural and human factors explain the damage recorded by populations.