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BLUE
DUIKER / BLOU BOKKIE (Cephalophus
monticola)
When
South Cape author Dalene Matthee came to describe
the blue duiker in her novel Circles in the
Forest, she said that they were “the
most beautiful of them all … So tiny,
so nimble of foot…”
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WHY
THE BREEDING PROGRAMME ON FEATHERBED NATURE
RESERVE?
The blue duiker appears on the Endangered
List and is facing extinction in its natural
habitat. The destruction of approx. 200
000 ha of the Southern Cape’s indigenous
forest over the past two hundred years,
has severely limited the blue duikers range
and has impacted heavily on their breeding
status.
It was with
this in mind that the owner of Featherbed
Nature Reserve decided to start a breeding
programme on the reserve in 1985. This programme
has been a great success. The size of the
breeding camps (although seemingly small)
are ideal to encourage mating while providing
adequate shelter and protection.
Public are
not permitted into the main breeding encampment
on the reserve. The intention of this encampment
is to allow the visitor to see only a few
of the blue duiker easily. These blue duiker
have become accustomed to limited interaction
with people, which has made them quite tame.
Sometimes they may even lick your finger through
the fence …. enjoying the taste of the
salt on your skin.
Sweet natured
and beautiful in appearance, the blue duiker
deserves every conservation effort. |
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CLASSIFICATION
& DISTRIBUTION
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Sixteen subspecies
occur in sub-Saharan Africa, of which three, with
distinct colour forms, are found in Southern Africa.
The sub-species
of the Southern Cape ( those found at Featherbed
) is known as Cephalophus monticola with the common
name being Blue-duiker or Blou Bokkie.
The blue duiker
are also found on the Eastern Coasts of South Africa,
throughout Kwa-Zulu Natal, Swaziland, Mozambique
& Eastern Zimbabwe.
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REPRODUCTION
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| During courtship the male
prances before the female, nibbling at her back
& shoulders, rubbing his pre-orbital glands
against her cheeks & presenting his horns.
The gestation period is
approximately 4 months. One lamb is born weighing
about 490g & doubling his/her weight within
30 days.
The male may
cover the female again within 14 days. Males reach
sexual maturity at 9 months & females at 16-17
months.
They breed
throughout the year, and may take temporary mates
or mate for life.
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HABITAT
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Their ideal
natural habitat would be dense bush, thickets
or forests where water is readily available.
Within these
environments they are most active in the early
morning and late afternoon.
At night they
come into less sheltered areas at the forest’s
edge. During the daytime they are very alert &
approach these areas with great caution.
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FOOD
(In Nature)
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| The blue duikers in the
breeding camps are fed: sheep pellets; fruit;
leaves and soft stems of the rooikans (acacia
cyclops) branches.
They also eat a variety of
leaves of the underbush, ferns, shoots forest
herbs and fallen fruits found in the forest.
They drink plenty of water.
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ENEMIES
(In Nature)
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Common
enemies in the area are the Rooikat ( Lynx
/ Caracal) & the Mountain Leopard.
The Blue
Duiker is also preyed upon by Crowned Eagles,
pythons.
Have been
and are heavily poached by man.
A snared
or otherwise caught Duiker gives utterance
to pitiful, loud and strangely cat-like meowing.
Duikers
leave well-marked trails or paths as they
need to drink water every day, so they are
easily trapped in snares.
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APPEARANCE
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Smallest antelope
in Southern Africa, approx. 30 cm at shoulder height
(although smaller in height than the Damara dik-dik,
it is heavier in mass).
Adult males
weigh approx. 4kg & females 4.6kg.
Colour varies
from dark reddish-brown to dark greyish-brown. They
are darker on their backs with a blueish sheen,
while their bellies, throats & chests are slightly
lighter in colour. The tail is white underneath
as are the front of their rounded ears, the back
of their ears are dark grey.
Both sexes have
short horns (males approximately 45mm & females
approximately 30mm). The horns slope backwards following
the line of the face.
Blue Duikers
are equipped with pre-orbital glands, (on the sides
of the face, below the eyes ) which are a type of
scent gland, used for marking their territory &
also during the mating process.
They have pedal
glands between their hooves for marking their movements
in their forest habitat.
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COMMON
HABITS
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Very shy,
secretive, silent, timid creatures & are seldom
seen.
Commonly live
in pairs, sometimes with sub-adult offspring.
Highly territorial,
and each breeding pair usually remains within
a limited area of between
4 and 6 ha.
Both male
& female scent markings are present in their
chosen territory.
They usually
forage, sleep & rest close to or next to one
another. Established pairs groom each other frequently
& often go through extensive greetings –
rubbing noses, pre-orbital glands, head tufts
& shoulders. These extensive greetings occasionally
occur between “foreign” Duikers as
well.
After weaning,
males are usually more protective & are more
often seen with the young. Lone females are also
known to be very protective, however, it is not
known how long the mother and lamb stay together.
Like all Duikers,
the Blue Duiker has a jerky, zig-zag action as
it darts through the bush.
Being so small,
it can move freely below the undergrowth, and
it is well camouflaged, making it almost invisible,
it may only be spotted due to the constant flicking
of its tail which exposes the white in tiny flashes.
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DID
YOU KNOW ?????
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The male blue
duiker while courting a female nibbles her neck
and shoulders in order to wipe his scent glands
on her face.
both the male
and female have horns
the male is
called a ram, the female an ewe and the baby a
lamb
the word ‘
duiker ‘ comes from the Afrikaans word meaning
diver, this describes its characteristic ‘
diving ’ action when fleeing
that the blue
duiker is known as one of the DWARF antelope species
in Africa, the smallest antelope in Africa is
known as the Royal antelope – Neotragus
pygmeus found in West African forests.
the blue duiker
is the size of a long ruler that learners use
at school.
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