Jentink's Duiker
Encyclopedia
Jentink's Duiker, Cephalophus jentinki, also known as Gidi-Gidi in Krio and Kaikulowulei in Mende
, is a forest-dwelling duiker
found in the southern parts of Liberia
, south-western Côte d'Ivoire
, and scattered enclaves in Sierra Leone
. It is named in honor of Fredericus Anna Jentink
.
Jentink's Duikers stand around 80 centimetres tall at the shoulder and weigh about 70 kilograms, making them the largest species of the duikers. Jentink's Duikers are gray from the shoulders back and dark black from the shoulders forward. There is a white band going over the shoulders, between the two colours and joining the white underside. Jentink's Duikers have long thin horns, which curl back a little at the ends, and reach between 14 and 21 centimetres.
Jentink's Duiker live mainly in very thick rainforest
, where they eat fruit
, flower
s, and leaves
which have fallen from the canopy
as well as stems
of seedlings, root
s, and, to the annoyance of local farmers, palm nuts, mangos, and cocoa pods. Jentink's Duiker are nocturnal and shelter during the day in dense thickets, or buttress roots, apparently in pairs. Jentink's Duiker are reported to be territorial animals, and when frightened will run very quickly but wear themselves out easily.
The species was first recognized as a new species in 1884, though it was not described until 1892. The species then vanished until a skull was found in Liberia in 1948. Sightings have occurred in its habitat since the 1960s. In 1971, the species was successfully bred in the Gladys Porter Zoo
.
There are estimated to be 3,500 Jentink's Duikers in the world. They are threatened primarily by habitat destruction and commercial bushmeat hunters.
Mende language
Mende is a major language of Sierra Leone, with some speakers in neighboring Liberia. It is spoken by the Mende people and by other ethnic groups as a regional lingua franca in southern Sierra Leone....
, is a forest-dwelling duiker
Duiker
A duiker is any of about 21 small to medium-sized antelope species from the subfamily Cephalophinae native to Sub-Saharan Africa.Duikers are shy and elusive creatures with a fondness for dense cover; most are forest dwellers and even the species living in more open areas are quick to disappear...
found in the southern parts of Liberia
Liberia
Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...
, south-western Côte d'Ivoire
Côte d'Ivoire
The Republic of Côte d'Ivoire or Ivory Coast is a country in West Africa. It has an area of , and borders the countries Liberia, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso and Ghana; its southern boundary is along the Gulf of Guinea. The country's population was 15,366,672 in 1998 and was estimated to be...
, and scattered enclaves in Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
. It is named in honor of Fredericus Anna Jentink
Fredericus Anna Jentink
-Biography:In 1875 he became curator at the Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie in Leiden. In 1884 he followed Hermann Schlegel as director of the museum and as editor of the journal Notes from the Leyden Museum...
.
Jentink's Duikers stand around 80 centimetres tall at the shoulder and weigh about 70 kilograms, making them the largest species of the duikers. Jentink's Duikers are gray from the shoulders back and dark black from the shoulders forward. There is a white band going over the shoulders, between the two colours and joining the white underside. Jentink's Duikers have long thin horns, which curl back a little at the ends, and reach between 14 and 21 centimetres.
Jentink's Duiker live mainly in very thick rainforest
Rainforest
Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions based on a minimum normal annual rainfall of 1750-2000 mm...
, where they eat fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
, flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
s, and leaves
Leaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
which have fallen from the canopy
Canopy (forest)
In biology, the canopy is the aboveground portion of a plant community or crop, formed by plant crowns.For forests, canopy also refers to the upper layer or habitat zone, formed by mature tree crowns and including other biological organisms .Sometimes the term canopy is used to refer to the extent...
as well as stems
Plant stem
A stem is one of two main structural axes of a vascular plant. The stem is normally divided into nodes and internodes, the nodes hold buds which grow into one or more leaves, inflorescence , conifer cones, roots, other stems etc. The internodes distance one node from another...
of seedlings, root
Root
In vascular plants, the root is the organ of a plant that typically lies below the surface of the soil. This is not always the case, however, since a root can also be aerial or aerating . Furthermore, a stem normally occurring below ground is not exceptional either...
s, and, to the annoyance of local farmers, palm nuts, mangos, and cocoa pods. Jentink's Duiker are nocturnal and shelter during the day in dense thickets, or buttress roots, apparently in pairs. Jentink's Duiker are reported to be territorial animals, and when frightened will run very quickly but wear themselves out easily.
The species was first recognized as a new species in 1884, though it was not described until 1892. The species then vanished until a skull was found in Liberia in 1948. Sightings have occurred in its habitat since the 1960s. In 1971, the species was successfully bred in the Gladys Porter Zoo
Gladys Porter Zoo
Gladys Porter Zoo is a zoological and botanical park located in Brownsville, Texas. The zoo officially opened on September 3, 1971, and currently averages 375,000 visitors annually. Situated on , the zoo houses about 400 animal species and over 250 tropical and neo-tropical species and subspecies...
.
There are estimated to be 3,500 Jentink's Duikers in the world. They are threatened primarily by habitat destruction and commercial bushmeat hunters.