Overview
Medium sized and generally bright orange in color, tending to reddish on the hindquarters, with underparts paler. A black dorsal stripe, wider in the center and tapering at the ends, extends from the shoulders to the top of the rump. The head tuft is orange. The face is browner than the body and is darkest on the muzzle. The legs are light brown, darkening toward the hoofs. The tail has a whitish tip. Inguinal (groin) glands are present. The horns (both sexes) are cone-shaped, strongly ridged and thick at the base, and grow backward in the line of the face with the tips curving slightly forward. Females are similar to males, though a little larger and with smaller horns.
Taxonomy
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammal
- Order
- Artiodactyla
- Family
- Bovidae
- Genus
- Cephalophus
Habitat
High rain forest. Distribution- There are two populations, separated by a gap of about 700 miles (1,125 km), in the lowland equatorial forest zone. One is in West Africa, extending from parts of Sierra Leone eastward through Liberia and southern Ivory Coast to southwestern Ghana. The other is in Central Africa, including extreme southeastern Nigeria east of the Cross River, far western Cameroon near the Nigerian border, Bioko Island (formerly Fernando Po) in Equatorial Guinea, and western Gabon.
Diet
These animals browse on plants and fallen fruit.
Behavior
Solitary and nocturnal, concealing itself in a protected place during the day.
Hunting
Many hunts take place in Cameroon and it is best taken by shot-gun or a large caliber solid bullet. They can be found by spot and stalk methods or can be called in by using distress calls.
Conservation Status
Listed as Least Concern by IUCN, though the population is considered to be in overall decline. It is one of the duikers we know the least about.