Abbott's duiker

The Abbott's duiker ( Cephalophus spadix ) is a Kleinantilopenart of the subfamily of Ducker ( Cephalophinae ) within the family Bovidae ( Bovidae ). He is a forest dweller and comes only in a few scattered areas in Tanzania before. It is very rare.

Features

The Abbott's duiker usually reaches a head-body length of 97-140 cm. The tail length is 8 to 13 cm. With a weight of 50 to 60 kg and a shoulder height of up to 74 cm, it is a big, burly, long built Ducker with short strong legs and a strong neck also. He wears a hazelnut brown to almost black smooth coat with a lighter greyish face. The belly and the lower edge are reddish - brown in color, on the midline of the back runs in addition a narrow, very dark band. As a prominent feature he wears a black to reddish-brown tufts of hair between 8 to 12 cm long, rear-facing horns. The ears are rounded and slightly colored brown.

Dissemination

The Abbott's duiker is found in the montane rain forests in the east and south of Tanzania, where most commonly encountered him in the Kilimanjaro National Park. He lives at an altitude 1300-2700 meters, occasionally up to 4000 meters. Especially in the higher elevations of the preferred Abbott Ducker raised bogs and very wet areas. At lower altitudes around 300 meters he also inhabits farmlands or forests with some deciduous trees and partially open landscapes. In addition, the Duckerart also in the Udzungwa Mountains National Park is found, here it is distributed with a maximum population density of about one individual per square kilometer. Smaller populations also exist in the Usambara Mountains and the Southern Highlands of Tanzania around Mount Rungwe and the Livingstone Mountains, but it is unclear how stable they are.

Way of life

The Abbott's duiker is largely nocturnal, but is also observed in the dim light. Mostly he lives solitary and often used perpetrated paths. The main diet consists of fruits, flowers, green sprouts and herbs. It was also observed that he eats leaves of Spring herbs and mosses. But maybe he also feeds partly of meat food like other duiker also about amphibians. The offspring are born from September to October with the world, possibly the animals are ready to mate but all year round. The main predators are the leopard, followed by lion and spotted hyena, juveniles can be captured well by the crown eagle or of pythons. In case of danger the Abbott Ducker refuge mostly in nearby waters, but can also be set in the case of harassment to fight back.

System

The Abbott's duiker is closely related to the yellow -backed duiker ( Cephalophus silvicultor ) and the Eastern Yellow -backed duiker ( Cephalophus curticeps ). He was possibly from a relic population of these two species by speciation. The Duckerart is considered monotypic.

Endangering

Although by law and protected by the national parks, the stock is due to poaching, including through trapping, threatened. The total population is estimated by the IUCN in 1500 individuals with returning trend, which Duckerart applies, according to the Environmental Protection Agency as endangered ( endangered ). Other potential threats are habitat loss due to the spread of human settlements and associated destruction of the landscapes.