Abstract

Debates on factors driving wildlife to consume soil (geophagy) are still ongoing. Numerous reasons have been
suggested to explain this phenomenon, of which nutrients supplementation and detoxifications are most common.
Most investigations have been conducted outside the tropics and are limited to sources other than termite hills
(THs). Since geophagy is a tropical phenomenon, understanding the mineral constituents of THs in the tropics will
add to the existing knowledge. Four composite samples (TH1- 4), having signs of geophagy were collected in the
study area from different spots at each TH and compared with unconsumed forest soil (FS) composed from different
areas of adjacent soils to determine macro (magnesium, sodium, potassium, calcium, sulphur and phosphorous)
and microelements (zinc, iron and copper), using standard laboratory methods. One-way analysis of variance and
Turkey test were used to analyze and compare the means at P

Key words: Geophagy, Nutrient supplementation, Medication, Cation exchange capacity