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Animal Info - Jentink's Duiker

(Other Names: 珍氏遁羚, カタシロダイカー, Céphalophe de Jentink, Duiquero de Jentink, Jentinducker, Squirrel Duiker)

Cephalophus jentinki

Status: Vulnerable


Contents

1. Profile (Picture)
2. Tidbits
3. Status and Trends (IUCN Status, Countries Where Currently Found, Population Estimates, History of Distribution, Threats and Reasons for Decline)
4. Data on Biology and Ecology (Weight, Habitat, Age to Maturity, Gestation Period, Birth Season, Birth Rate, Early Development, Maximum Age, Diet, Behavior, Social Organization, Density)
5. References


Profile

Pictures: Jentink's Duiker #1 (Huffman 2004); Jentink's Duiker #2 (26 Kb JPEG) 

Jentink's duiker is a small forest antelope that weighs up to 70 kg (150 lb). It spends much of the year in unpopulated interior hills covered with primary forest where it feeds on forest fruits. However, during the rainy season, between May and October, forest trees produce few fruits, and at this time Jentink's duiker leaves the forest and makes use of forest edges, secondary growth, scrub and farms to feed. In addition to fruit it feeds on shoots of shrubs and young trees, palm nuts, mangoes and cocoa pods. Jentink's duiker is nocturnal. During the day it hides in a hollow tree, fallen tree trunk or the buttress bay of a kapok tree. Jentink's duiker is either solitary or occurs in pairs. It is reported to be territorial, with both members of a pair defending the territory.

Jentink's duiker was already considered rare in 1888. Since the 1960's it has been thought to occur in Cote d'Ivoire (southwestern forests), Liberia and Sierra Leone. Within this region it is only found in the few remaining areas of undisturbed forest. It is shy and secretive, and it may be less rare than it was thought to be in the past.

Threats include loss of its forest habitat due to logging as well as hunting by loggers' employees, commercial bushmeat hunters and native people.


Tidbits

*** A study conducted in Sierra Leone found that most people are unaware of the rarity of Jentink's duiker, and even local hunters claim not to realize that it is protected by law (Davies & Birkenhager 1990).

*** Jentink's duiker is so secretive that it continued to survive less than 30 km (20 mi) from Freetown, a city of half a million people, hiding on steep, densely forested slopes in the city's water catchment area.

*** Jentink's duiker is occasionally found at the seashore, presumably seeking to obtain salt.

*** When alarmed, duikers quickly seek protection by "diving" into dense vegetation; thus the origin of their name, duiker, which means "diving buck" in Afrikaans.


Status and Trends

IUCN Status:

  • 1960's -  1994: Endangered
  • 1996 - 2004: Vulnerable (Criteria: A1c, C1) (Population Trend: Decreasing) (IUCN 2004)

Countries Where Jentink's Duiker Is Currently Found:

2004: Occurs in Cote d'Ivoire, Liberia and Sierra Leone. (IUCN 2004)

Population Estimates:

[Note: Figures given are for wild populations only.]

History of Distribution:

Jentink's duiker was already considered rare in 1888, although it was reportedly common in Sierra Leone at the turn of the century. Since the 1960's it has been thought to occur in Cote d'Ivoire (southwestern forests), Liberia and Sierra Leone. It is found only in the western part of the Upper Guinean forest block, which stretches from eastern Sierra Leone through Liberia and southern Cote d'Ivoire into southwest Ghana. Within this region it is only found in the few remaining areas of undisturbed forest. It is shy and secretive, and it may be less rare than it was thought to be in the past (East 1990).

Distribution Map (7 Kb GIF) (African Mammals Databank 2004)

Threats and Reasons for Decline:

Threats include loss of its forest habitat due to logging as well as hunting by loggers' employees, commercial bushmeat hunters and native people.


Data on Biology and Ecology

Weight:

Jentink's duiker weighs up to 70 kg (150 lb).

Habitat:

Jentink's duiker spends much of the year in unpopulated interior hills covered in evergreen rainforest. However, during the rainy season, between May and October, forest trees produce few fruits, and at this time Jentink's duiker makes use of forest edges, secondary growth, scrub and farms to feed. A diversity of fruiting trees and dense forest for shelter appear to constitute basic habitat requirements.

Jentink's duiker is one of the species that live in both the Guinean Forests of West Africa Biodiversity Hotspot (Cons. Intl.) and the Guinean Moist Forests Global 200 Ecoregion. (Olson & Dinerstein 1998, Olson & Dinerstein 1999)

Age to Maturity:

Females: 9 - 12 months; males: 12 - 18 months.

Gestation Period:

7.5 months.

Birth Season:

It has been reported that young are usually born between March and June, and that young calves are usually seen between November and January (East 1990).

Birth Rate:

There is 1 young per birth.

Early Development:

A young Jentink's duiker is weaned by 5 months.

Maximum Age:

10 - 12 years.

Diet:

Jentink's duiker is mainly frugivorous, but during the rainy season, between May and October, the forest produces few fruits; therefore, Jentink's duiker comes out of the forest at night and feeds on shoots of shrubs and young trees. It is also known to enter plantations to eat palm nuts, mangoes and cocoa pods. Hunters familiar with the duiker's habits have identified many fruits with hard seeds or shells in its diet, notably kola nuts. (Kingdon 1997)

Behavior:

Jentink's duiker is nocturnal. During the day it hides in a hollow tree, fallen tree trunk or the buttress bay of a kapok tree. If discovered, it bolts from its hiding place with great speed, but it is not able to run very far. At night it travels out of the forest, especially during periods when forest fruits are scarce.

Social Organization:

Jentink's duiker is either solitary or occurs in pairs. It is reported to be territorial, with both members of a pair defending the territory.

Density and Range:

It appears to occur at relatively low densities (perhaps about 1 individual/sq km (about 3 individual/sq mi)) even under favorable habitat conditions (East 1990).


References

African Mammals Databank 2004, Burton & Pearson 1987, Cons. Intl., Curry-Lindahl 1972, Davies & Birkenhager 1990, East 1990, Huffman 1999c, Huffman 2004, IUCN 1969, IUCN 1994, IUCN 1996, IUCN 2000, IUCN 2003a, IUCN 2004, Kingdon 1997, Macdonald 1984, Nowak & Paradiso 1983, Olson & Dinerstein 1998, Olson & Dinerstein 1999, Stuart & Stuart 1996


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