Blue duiker
| Blue duiker[1] | |
|---|---|
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| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Family: | Bovidae |
| Subfamily: | Cephalophinae |
| Genus: | Philantomba |
| Species: | P. monticola |
| Binomial name | |
| Philantomba monticola Thunberg, 1789 |
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The blue duiker (Philantomba monticola) is a small, forest-dwelling duiker found in the Central Africa and southern South Africa.
Blue duikers stand around 35 cm (14 in) tall at the shoulder and weigh 4 kg (8.8 lb).They are the smallest of the antelope family. The blue duiker has a brown coat with a slight blue tinge – hence the name – and a white underside. A glandular slit occurs beneath both eyes, with a very slight crest between the ears. It has simple conical horns of 2 to 10 cm (0.79 to 3.9 in). Females do not always have horns. The average lifespan is 10–12 years.
Blue duikers live mainly in rainforests, where they eat fruit, flowers, and leaves, which have fallen from the canopy, as well as eggs and insects. They are, in turn, the prey of the crowned eagle. They are nocturnal and solitary or form mating pairs. They are very territorial animals, patrolling the borders of their territory and marking them with their dung and excretions from glands above their hooves and under their eyes (preorbital glands). They will chase off any intruders and only tolerate their offspring's presence until they reach 18 months of age.[3]
Blue duikers generally produce one offspring per year. Gestation is estimated at between 4 and 7.5 months.[4]
Blue duikers are not at all endangered and are in fact quite common; in Gabon, they can reach population densities of almost 80 animals per km2.
References
- ^ Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M., eds. (2005). Mammal Species of the World (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 715. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
- ^ IUCN SSC Antelope Specialist Group (2008). Cephalophus monticola. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved 29 March 2009. Database entry includes a brief justification of why this species is of least concern.
- ^ Blue duiker, An ultimate ungulate fact sheet
- ^ Alden, Peter (1995). National Audubon Society: Field Guide to African Wildlife. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. pp. 459–460. ISBN 0-679-43234-5.
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