Smithers Mammals of Southern Africa by Reay H. N. Smithers

Author:Reay H. N. Smithers
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Random House Struik
Published: 2012-06-12T16:00:00+00:00

Common duiker / Grey duiker

Sylvicapra grimmia Gewone duiker

Description Upperparts vary from greyish buff to reddish yellow. Underparts are usually white but may be grey or tinged reddish. Black or dark brown down the front of the forelegs. The forehead is usually darker and redder than the upperparts of the body; a black band on top of the muzzle runs a variable distance from the nostrils, sometimes reaching as far as the forehead. The large preorbital glands open into narrow slits in front of the eyes. The horns are short and straight, growing back in the plane of the face, heavily ridged at the base, smooth towards the tips. Typically only males have horns but horned females are known and in some areas are common. There is a tuft of dark brown or black hair on top of the head. The tail is dark on top, white underneath. Females have two pairs of mammae between their hindlegs. Total length 1,1 m (1–1,26 m); tail 14 cm (10–20 cm); shoulder height 51 cm; weight males 18,7 kg (15,3–21,2 kg), females 20,7 kg (17–25,4 kg). See scale drawings on pp. 208 and 218.

Habitat Scrub and bush, woodland with an understorey of bushes, grassland with patches of bush or dense grass, forest fringes. Habitat requirements are cover and browse; they are independent of water as long as they have green food. They penetrate desert along drainage lines and can survive in agricultural areas as long as cover is available.

Diet They browse a wide range of broad-leaved forbs, trees and bushes and also eat fruit, pods and seeds, roots, bark, flowers, fungi, caterpillars and even nestling birds. In arid areas wild melons are eaten for their water content. Duikers may be a problem in crops, orchards, vineyards and plantations.

Life history Gestation 27 weeks. Single lambs, very rarely twins, are born at any time of year. Birth weight 1,3–1,9 kg. Full grown at 7 months; females first mate as early as 8–9 months and give birth at 1 year. Lifespan 8–11 years. Important prey for medium-sized and large carnivores; 13% of leopard and cheetah kills in the Kruger National Park. Also taken by pythons, and baboons eat lambs.

Behaviour Most active in the early morning and late afternoon, extending into the night; become more nocturnal if disturbed or hunted. Rest in the cover of bushes or dense grass. Solitary (87% of sightings in KwaZulu-Natal) or a female with a lamb, rarely in male-female pairs. Territorial in KwaZulu-Natal but this is very likely to vary with locality and habitat. Scent marks are produced by the preorbital glands and glands between the front hooves. Their mating system probably varies with locality and habitat, from monogamous pairs to males with more than one female.

They avoid predators by lying quietly or freezing motionless and dashing away at the last moment if approached closely. Run with a distinctive diving, zig-zag motion from which comes the name duiker, Afrikaans for ‘diver’. Use their horns and sharp back hooves as defensive weapons. The alarm

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.