Bates' Pygmy Antelope

Bate's dwarf antelopes are very small antelopes weighing from 2-3 kg. Body length ranges between 500 and 575 mm, with a tail length of 45 to 50 mm. Dwarf antelope males possess horns that extend back over their head on the same plane as the face. These horns are usually brown or fawn in color and are about 38 to 50 mm long. The coat is a shiny dark chestnut on the back becoming lighter toward the flanks. Males are only slightly larger, on average, than females.

(Grizmek 1988; Nowak 1999)

Range mass: 2 to 3 kg.

Other Physical Features: endothermic ; homoiothermic; bilateral symmetry

Neotragus batesi is most often found in moist forest and brush.

Terrestrial Biomes: forest

Neotragus batesi occurs throughout the lowland forest zone from southeastern Nigeria to western Uganda.

Biogeographic Regions: ethiopian (Native )

The diet of N. batesi consists of leaves, buds, shoots, fungus, and limited amounts of grasses and herbs. They also eat human food crops, such as peanuts, in areas where humans have intruded into their natural habitats. They are often caught in snares surrounding agricultural fields.

(Grizmek 1988; Nowak 1999)

Perception Channels: tactile ; chemical

The biggest current threat to Bate's dwarf antelopes is human expansion. The loss of habitat due to clearing for farmland could have a very negative effect on their populations in the future.

(Grizmek 1988; Nowak 1999)

US Federal List: no special status

CITES: no special status

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: least concern

Bate's dwarf antelopes are known to eat crops such as peanuts. The overall economic damage from this herbivory is minimal.

(Grizmek 1988; Nowak 1999)

The meat of N. batesi is edible, although quite dry. They are not often hunted for meat but, in some cases, farmers will kill and eat limited numbers.

(Grizmek 1988; Nowak 1999)

Mating occurs throughout the year with peaks in the late dry and early wet seasons. The gestation period of N. batesi is thought to be 180 days. One young is born per gestation with a birth weight of between 1.6 and 2.4 kg.

(Grizmek 1988; Nowak 1999)

Range number of offspring: 1 (low) .

Average number of offspring: 1.

Range gestation period: 6 (low) months.

Average gestation period: 6 months.

Average weaning age: 2 months.

Key Reproductive Features: gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual

Parental Investment: altricial

Bates' pygmy antelope is a predominantly solitary species, with each individual inhabiting its own home range, although the range of a male often overlaps that of two females (3). Males are territorial and will mark their range with secretions from their preorbital glands (3). It is an entirely folivorous species, and thus to gain enough energy from this rather innutritious diet of leaves, its daily activity and yearly movements are largely dictated by the need to obtain sufficient quantities of digestible foliage (3). Within its range, Bates' pygmy antelope will move around a number of suitable feeding sites on rotation, spending one to two months in each area (2). Bates' pygmy antelope apparently mates throughout the year, but peaks of mating activity occur in the late dry and early wet seasons. Young are born after a gestation period lasting six months (3). Males reach sexual maturity at some time between 8 and 18 months, while females become sexually mature at around 16 months (2).

Its ability to inhabit gardens, plantations and other disturbed areas show that this antelope is not likely to be greatly affected by the habitat degradation that may affect other forest-dwelling species. However, protected areas may still play an essential part in this species future, particularly if human populations rapidly grow (1). Currently, Bates' pygmy antelope occurs in a number of protected areas, such as Okapi Faunal Reserve in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Lope Reserve in Gabon (1) (5).

Bates' pygmy antelope is the smallest ungulate in East Africa (3), and its petite size combined with its inconspicuous coat makes it a secretive animal as it moves about its dense habitat. Its rather glossy fur is a warm mahogany brown on the upperparts and white below (2) (3), while its tail is dark brown (4). The only distinctive details in its colouring are the black and white markings on the ears, and the broad white band down the throat (3). The slender build of Bates' pygmy antelope (2), along with its long, powerful hindlegs, arched back and short neck, makes it well suited to moving quickly through thick vegetation (4). Female pygmy antelopes are typically a little larger than males, but the male can also easily be spotted by its smooth, brown horns, which extend up to five centimetres and slope gently backwards (2).

This diminutive antelope inhabits moist, lowland forest, where it favours areas of dense cover such as dense undergrowth along rivers and areas of tree fall. It may also be found along road sides, village gardens, plantations, and in forest that is regenerating after cultivation or logging (1).

Bates' pygmy antelope occurs in three separated regions in West and Central Africa: south-eastern Nigeria; southern Cameroon, south-western Central African Republic, Gabon and the Republic of Congo; and north-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo into south-western Uganda (1).

Classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List (1).

Although Bates' pygmy antelope is hunted for its meat, it is not currently considered to be threatened (1). However, should the currently sparse human population within its range suddenly increase, then this species could find itself subject to levels of hunting and forest destruction it can not easily withstand (1).

Bates's pygmy antelope (Nesotragus batesi), also known as the dwarf antelope, pygmy antelope or Bates' dwarf antelope, is a very small antelope living in the moist forest and brush of Central and West Africa. It is in the same genus as the suni.