Species which may be tabooed by one group of people are a delicacy to another group elsewhere.
Species eaten vary from antelopes to monkeys, rodents.
Smoking is the most widespread form of preservation and smoked bushmeat is available in urban markets in most African countries. The range of species taken and relative importance of the different species have been documented for several areas of the continent and vary from locality to locality depending mainly on the species available for exploitation in each region and also on hunting restrictions enforced in each county. Rodents are particularly important in terms of range of species and numbers taken in many parts of Africa, possibly because they are not subject to hunting restrictions in many countries and also the fact that their high reproductive capacity makes them relatively more abundant. Table 2.3 Range of mammalian species used as food resource in relation to environment and subsistence base. Total number of species recorded in the area Detailed studies on diet composition have been carried out for several groups of people living in west-central Africa.