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The study assessed indigenous practices and beliefs on the conservation of natural resources in Oju Local Government Area of Benue State. Purposeful and simple random sampling was applied to determine the study sample and thus a sample size of 118 was used for the study. The findings revealed that majority of the respondents were male (75.4%) while 24.6% were female. The indigenous and traditional beliefs in the protection of natural resources in the area is reflected in a variety of their practices which included sacred groves and sacred landscapes, construction of masquerades and other traditional artifacts, reflecting greatly the population of the forest resources. The most conserved fauna and flora species identified were; Smutsia gigantea, Elgaria coerulea, Ceyx erithaca, Milvus aegyptius, Centropus steerii and Ophiophagus hannah; Vitellaria paradoxa, Khaya grandifoliola and Abies balsamea. Major challenges identified were; lack of inclusion by governance institution with (98.7%), followed by adoption of other religious beliefs with (97.5%), poaching/illegal logging and population growth/urbanization (91.5%), perception of idolatry (88.9%), Bush fires (89.8%) while frequent use of herbs for traditional medicine (83.1%) had the least percentage. On the ways of improvement was awareness creation had the highest proportion (33.9%), followed by attitudinal change (30.5%), while resource allocation to traditional leaders and integration of traditional conservation in formal resource conservation had the least proportion of 17.8%. It was concluded that traditional practices and beliefs if well managed will enhanced proper conservation and management of natural resources. The study thus recommended that, institutions responsible for conservation of natural resources should be positioned for effective performance and service delivery. Government should have monitoring agents that will help in ensuring natural resource conservation.

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A survey of diurnal primate species in Pandam wildlife park, Nigeria was conducted to determine its population density and structure. Eight transect lines (2.0km length, 0.02km width) at interval of 1.0km were located as representative samples in the park within the three range stratum (riparian forest, savannah woodland and, swampy area) based on proportional to size in providing information on the primate’s species present in the park. These include (Cercopithecus mona, Erythrocebus pata, Papio anubis and, Chlorocebus tantalus). Direct method of animal sighting was employed. Data was collected and analyzed using descriptive statistics, ANOVA and diversity indices. The result showed that savannah woodland strata had more number of individual species encountered (132) and the lowest was the swampy area. Also the savannah woodland had the highest species diversity and richness while the riparian forest strata had the highest number of species evenness. More so, Cercopithecus tantalus was widespread throughout the park among other primates and Cercopithecus mona is most likely to decline even more rapidly than others since they inhabit the very tall trees. However, the variation in mean value of species sampled were not statistically significance (P>0.05). Generally, atleast one primate can be sighted in every km2 of range strata covered within the park. This census provides update information on the status of primate diversity and numbers within the park which can help to direct conservation efforts of the primates and other animals by the state government. This will further enhance the sustainability and elevation of the park to a National park.Keywords:  Population status, Diurnal Primates, ecology, Pandam Wildlife Park,