UNCOMMON ANIMALS AND EDIBLE INSECTS EATEN BY NIGERIANS

How about some spicy winged termites with some jumping chicken for snack? Eww!!! Gross! The thought of consuming such a meal might turn the stomach. I know right. Though they look creepy and disgusting but they are healthy and nutritious to eat.
A lot of Nigerians are very very adventurous with food and they eat things which they consider as a delicacy.
Insects are very safe to eat but few of them are dangerous. Edible insects are rich in protein and amino acid.
Insects are everywhere, meaning they are very accessible, cheap source of food. These insects are accompanied with food, serving as meats or just eaten as snack.

Below are some unconventional foods and edible worms Nigerians eat:

FROG:

I choose to term this ‘jumping chicken’. The frog leg is said to taste like chicken.
After it is smoked, it is bonded with rubber bands and hawked like stock fish.

WINGED TERMITES:

It is one of the commonly eaten insects, they are highly nutritious and delicious. They are available at the start of the rainy season. They are weirdly attracted to halogen and fluorescent lights. When collected, they are rinsed, the water on their bodies is allowed to dry off, and then seasoned with salt and sometimes pepper and fried. They contain antiviral properties and as such effective for treating cold, cough, hoarseness, asthma, catarrh, influenza, flu, whooping cough, sore throat, etc.

MONITOR LIZARD:

The monitor lizard also known as the Komodo Dragon is discovered to be the only largest living species of lizard still in existence. The skin is peeled and the belly opened up to bring out the intestines, then season to desired taste.

CROCODILE:

I remember a cousin of mine that grew up in the village telling me that they do eat crocodile in the village. I was like, ‘Heck!!!’
My inquisitive self decided to check whether there are still people from this part of the world eating crocodile and I came across Oluwo meat market in Epe on YouTube. At the market, they sell crocodile, pangolin, monitor lizards, turtles and the likes.

LOCUST:

Are a group of certain species of short-horned grasshoppers. They can be cooked in many ways, but are often fried, smoked or dried.

In the historical fiction novel Things Fall Apart, the villagers heard/saw of a swarm of locusts coming to the village.
“In this way the moons and the seasons passed. And then the locusts came”
When the locusts came, the phenomemon was met with delight. In fact, most of the villagers have only heard tales of a locust swarm.

The villagers of Umuofia knew about the locusts’ crop-eating abilities, but the harvest was already over. After the locusts ate the wild grasses- the villagers ate the locusts. They were gathered in baskets and roasted. In fact, they were seen as a delicacy. They had locusts for nights on end.

This book is historical fiction, so the swarm of locusts could have very much happened.

VULTURE:

There is a belief that vultures are evil birds. In the southwest, vultures are seen as sacred in traditional spirituality. In the south east, the bird is vowed as unclean and unacceptable.
But I was shocked when I heard that this unacceptable specie of bird is eaten by the Northerners. A lot of the mallams selling suya and prepared chickens are believed to be using vulture. Can we now say it is very risky eating suya and prepared chicken by the Hausa vendors?

PALM WEEVIL LARVAE:

It is found in palm trees. The trunk is left to rotten so it can produce the worms after the palm wine has been extracted. This special meat is best enjoyed with garri.