Black duiker

Black duiker ( Cephalophus niger)

The black duiker ( Cephalophus niger) is a small antelope found in West Africa from Sierra Leone to the south-west Nigeria.

Features

The black duiker reaches a head-body length of 80 to 100 cm, a height at the withers from 45 to 55 cm and a weight of 15 to 20 kg. Its tail is 7-14 inches long, the horns of the males from 7.5 to 17.5 cm, the females of 2.5 to 3 cm. Generally, it is a more powerful built Ducker with a long body and short, strong legs. Females are usually larger than males.

The fur is brownish-black to black, with the backs of the animals is darker. Head, throat and chest are lighter, reddish brown the top of the head and forehead Schopf, the outside of the ears blackish brown, the inside reddish brown. The middle of the forehead can be black. The inside of the legs are yellow-brown. The black tail has single bright hair, his Endquaste is black and white. Inguinal glands are missing, the dew claws are small. The horns have a circular cross section and are straight, in male animals they are 7.2 to 9.4 cm long, in female with a maximum of 3.1 cm length much shorter. Your base is weak corrugated.

Way of life

The black duiker lives on the edges of woods and in thickets and verbuschtem more open terrain, partly in gallery forests. He is usually diurnal and solitary, rarely one encounters small groups consisting of a maximum of three individuals. This will then consist of males, females and offspring, about the stability of such associations is not known. The diet consists of fruits, which account for 88% of all consumed plants. These include those of the spurge family, figs, oil palm and laurel family. Other soft plant parts such as leaves play a subordinate role and be eaten only in the lush state. The fruits can have up to 6 cm in diameter, larger or chewy be avoided.

The mating season of the Schwarzduckers is open all year, but a larger number of offspring is from November to January to the world. The gestation period lasts 126 days and is thus comparable short, usually comes after only one young is born. This average weight of 1.94 kg and is approximately 90 days breastfed. The birth interval is seven and a half months. In captivity, the black duiker can be up to 14 years old.

Threat and protection

The total population of the Schwarzduckers is estimated at around 100,000 animals. However, in its distribution area it is a popular gejgtes animal and serves as a source of meat. The IUCN indicates that the stocks are declining, but at the moment the black duiker applies ( " not at risk " ) as least concern.