Blue Duiker
Cephalophus monticola

CLASS: Mammalia
ORDER: Artiodactyla
FAMILY: Bovidae

SIZE:
13-16 inches high

RANGE:
Sub-Saharan Africa, central Africa plus southeastern coastal areas.

HABITAT:
Rainforests, along forest edges, woodlands, and riverine thickets

DIET:
Wild - Leaves, twigs, flowers, fruits (up to 80% of diet), and occasionally grasses, fungi, and insects
Zoo - Herbivore diet, apples, lettuce, carrots

DESCRIPTION:

• Bluish gray to brownish.
• Very variable in size and color, darker in wet areas, paler in dry areas.
• Tail with a dark line down middle of top, edges of the tail white.
• The eyes are large, the ears relatively small.

FACTS:

• Called duikers from the Afrikaans word for diver due to their series of diving jumps when fleeing
• Gives a warning bark when alarmed
• Lives in pairs that chase away intruders
• White edges of tail flicker like a flashlight in the dark understory of the forest

YOUNG:
Has a single young that may take two years to mature, staying with the parents for 18 months

STATUS:
Considered lower risk because it is still widespread and common even with hunting pressure for bush meat.

REFERENCES:
Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia, 2nd ed., Vol. 16, Mammals V, Edited M. Hutchins
Kingdon Field Guide to African Mammals, Jonathan Kingdon