Jentink Duiker | Online Record Book Preview

Cephalophus jentinki

Duiquer de Jentink (Sp), Jentinkducker (G), Céphalophe de Jentink (F). Called black and white antelope in Liberia. Named for F. A. Jentink of the Leyden Museum.

DESCRIPTION Shoulder height 32-35 inches (81-89 cm). Weight 150-200 pounds (68-91 kg).

The beautifully colored Jentink duiker is the largest of the three "giant" duikers, the others being the yellow-backed and Abbott. It is stockily built and strikingly marked. The head and neck are brownish black, with the muzzle gray; there is a white collar around the shoulders; the back, flanks and rump are grayish brown, with the legs paler; the inside of the legs and the tip of the tail are whitish. The head tuft is very small or absent. Inguinal (groin) glands are present. The horns (both sexes) are the largest of any duiker, being somewhat larger than those of the yellow-backed. They are lightly ridged at the base but otherwise smooth, curving backward and slightly downward below the plane of the face. Females are similar to males, though probably somewhat larger in body, and with smaller horns.

BEHAVIOR Appears to be solitary and mostly nocturnal. Very wary and secretive. Native hunters report it is not nearly as rare as has been stated, but is actually rather common in areas where it occurs.

HABITAT Lives only in high rain forest.

DISTRIBUTION Parts of Sierra Leone, Liberia and southwestern Ivory Coast.

TAXONOMIC NOTES No subspecies are recognized.

STATUS Listed as endangered by the USF&WS (1979) and on Appendix I of CITES (1989). Loss of habitat from logging is the greatest problem, as this animal needs old-growth forest to survive.