There are no known adverse effects of Cephalophus silvicultor on humans.
Predators of yellow-back duikers include African hunting dogs, lions, and leopards. When they are alarmed, the typical resopnse is for the yellow rump hairs to stand erect. A shrill call may be emitted before dashing into the cover of underbrush habitat. Young duikers stay hidden in the forest for more than 7 days to evade predators before beginning to venture out. When threatened, the response is to flee into dense forest. Their habit of seeming to dive into the undergrowth gives them their common name, duiker, which is derived from Afrikaans for "diving buck." Yellow-backed duikers also hold their yellow rump hairs erect when agitated.
Known Predators:
Anti-predator Adaptations: cryptic
The coat of yellow-backed duikers is black or brown in color with a yellow triangular patch near the tail. This yellow patch typically will not appear until about 1 month of age and will not be completely developed until about 10 months. Males and females resemble each other in appearance, although females are slightly larger. The muzzle area is a light gray color which surrounds their white lips. Both sexes have short, conical horns that grow between 8.5 and 21 centimeters long.
Young yellow-backed duikers are born a dark brown color with spotted flanks and red undersides. These cryptic colors help them remain hidden from predators in the forest.
Yellow-backed duikers have unique scent glands located posterior to each eye. Unlike other antelope species, these glands secrete from a grouping of pores, not from a solitary large opening. These scent glands are used to mark territorial boundaries. Yellow-backed duikers are built for life in dense vegetation. The body is arched, with short forelegs and longer hindlegs for manuverability.
Yellow-backed duikers are one of the largest species of forest duikers, ranging from 45 to 80 kilograms in the wild. The body is 115 to 145 centimeters in length, with a short tail measuring 11 to 18 centimeters. Yellow-backed duikers have the largest brain size relative to body size than any other antelope species.
Range mass: 45 to 80 kg.
Range length: 115 to 145 cm.
Other Physical Features: endothermic ; homoiothermic; bilateral symmetry
Sexual Dimorphism: female larger; ornamentation
In captivity, other species of Cephalophus can live 10 to 15 years. In the wild duikers can live 10 to 12 years.
Range lifespan
Status: wild: 10 to 12 years.
Average lifespan
Status: captivity: 22.5 years.
Yellow-backed duikers prefer forested habitats with dense undergrowth, although they can be found in a variety of forested habitats, including savannah and farmland. There is evidence of interspecific competition between yellow-backed duikers and their larger relatives, Jentink's duikers (Cephalophus jentinki). In some situations, Jentink's duikers may force yellow-backed duikers out of preferred habitat.
In captivity, yellow-backed duikers are not tolerant of cold temperatures. They cannot be exposed to climates of 7 degrees Celsius (55 degrees Fahrenheit) for a prolonged time, but can tolerate temperatures of 43 degrees Celsius (110 degrees Fahrenheit).
Habitat Regions: tropical ; terrestrial
Terrestrial Biomes: forest ; rainforest
Other Habitat Features: agricultural
Cephalophus silvicultor is found throughout western central Africa. Yellow-backed duikers range from Guinea-Bissau eastward to Uganda and Sudan, and as far south as Angola and Zambia. Yellow-backed duikers have the widest range in comparison to other forest duiker species. They are typically found in forested areas with dense understory growth.
Biogeographic Regions: ethiopian (Native )
Yellow-backed duikers are selective-foraging frugivores. Typical diets are low in fiber. Starches are fermented quickly, with rapid passage through the digestive tract. Along with fruit, yellow-backed duikers eat leaves, seeds, buds, bark, and shoots. Four yellow-backed duikers in the wild ate 71.3% fruit matter and 28.6% dry weight. Occasionally, these forest antelopes will kill and eat small animals, such as birds. Of the 28.6% dry weight, 0.1% was animal matter.
Yellow-backed duikers specialize on eating fallen fruits and can consume fruits or seeds that are too large or hard for primates and other frugivores to eat. Duiker cheek teeth are specialized for chewing tough bark and roots. A long pointed tongue and mobile lips allow foliage to be easily obtained and manipulated. Duikers search the ground for food using their hooves and snouts to dig. The large size of yellow-backed duikers forces them to forage almost constantly.
Animal Foods: birds; mammals
Plant Foods: leaves; roots and tubers; wood, bark, or stems; seeds, grains, and nuts; fruit
Primary Diet: herbivore (Frugivore )
It is unknown how important forest duikers are in seed dispersal in African forests. Duikers have been observed spitting out digested seeds after rumination. Some seeds remain intact and are dispersed in this way. Duikers act as predators on other seeds by damaging them during digestion. Larger mammals also prey on adult and young duikers.
Three new species of Coccidia have been found in forest duikers. These parasites were not found in any other wild or domestic African ruminant. Coccidia was documented in Philantomba monticola, Cephalophus dorsalis, and Cephalophus nigrifrons. Cephalophus maxwelli was discovered with the parasite Selenomas ruminanticum. It is possible that Coccidia species will be discovered in C. silvicultor.
Ecosystem Impact: disperses seeds
Cephalophus silvicultor is an important form of meat and money for people living in central and western Africa. In many instances, yellow-backed duiker meat is necessary bushmeat for local survival. They are hunted with a variety of methods, including snares, shotguns, or netting. At night, duikers are easily shot because they stand still when light is shone on them.
Positive Impacts: food ; body parts are source of valuable material
Human expansion has caused a change in some African habitats from mature forests to clearings for agriculture, directly impacting yellow-duiler populations, which rely on forested habitat. Yellow-backed duikers require dense forest cover to hide, because of their large size. Smaller duikers, such as blue duikers (Philantomba monticola), can conceal themselves in the more open habitats where they live.
US Federal List: no special status
CITES: appendix ii
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: least concern
Yellow-backed duikers communicate with unique scent glands anterior to the eyes. These maxillary glands are made of connective tissues that surrounds 2 to 3 secretory layers forming hairless slits. The presence of these glands cause the cheeks to swell. Duikers also have scent glands behind each hoof. Gland scents are used to communicate territorial boundaries, reproductive status, and as a way of cementing social bonds. Yellow-backed duikers also communicate through grunts and shrill bleats. When alarmed, these duikers emit a shrill whistle, erect their dorsal crest, and flee.
Communication Channels: visual ; acoustic ; chemical
Other Communication Modes: scent marks
Perception Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; chemical
Cephalophus silvicultor is considered one of the most evolutionarily ancestral (primitive) African antelopes that exists today.
The name "duiker" comes from an African word meaning "diver". This refers to their tendency to run and hide in forest cover when threatened. Cephalophus silvicultor can be broken into its Greek roots. "Kephale" refers to the head, and "lophus" to a crest, both are associated with a tuft of fur on the yellow-backed duikers head. "Silva" means woods or forest, and "cultor" implies a farmer or inhabitant, both these terms imply the animal lives in the forest.
Yellow-backed duiker mating pairs have been observed licking and nibbling each other socially. This behavior is also viewed between mothers and calves. Adult duikers socially rub their preorbital scent glands on other adults bodies and legs. Duiker mates also press these scent glands together as a possible sign of pair bonding. It is thought that females defend territories that they share with males. However, the pair bond may be fairly transitory.
Mating System: monogamous
In captivity, yellow-backed duikers go into estrus once per month throughout the year, lasting 2 to 3 days. Gestation is approximately 7 months, after which females give birth to one calf. Occasionaly, 2 calves are born. Females may breed twice each year. Young yellow-backed duikers stay hidden for 1 to 2 weeks in the forest. One male calf in captivity at the Los Angeles Zoo was weaned after 95 days, although others have been recorded at about 5 months. Females are sexually mature at 9 to 12 months of age, while males reach maturity at 12 to 18 months.
Breeding interval: Yellow-backed duikers may breed twice each year.
Breeding season: Yellow-backed duikers can breed throughout the year.
Range number of offspring: 1 to 2.
Average number of offspring: 1.
Range gestation period: 4 (low) months.
Average gestation period: 7 months.
Range weaning age: 3.17 to 5 months.
Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female): 9 to 12 months.
Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male): 12 to 18 months.
Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; year-round breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; viviparous
Average birth mass: 2400 g.
Average number of offspring: 1.
Young are weaned after approximately 5 months. It is unknown how long young stay with the mother. The young remain hidden for their first week of life, after which they begin to emerge from hiding to browse on vegetation.
Parental Investment: pre-fertilization (Provisioning, Protecting: Female); pre-hatching/birth (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Female); pre-weaning/fledging (Provisioning: Female); extended period of juvenile learning
The yellow-backed duiker (Cephalophus silvicultor) is a shy, forest-dwelling antelope of the order Artiodactyla, from the family Bovidae. Yellow-backed duikers are the most widely-distributed of all duikers. They are found mainly in Central and Western Africa, ranging from Senegal and Gambia on the western coast, through to the Democratic Republic of the Congo to western Uganda; their distribution continues southward into Rwanda, Burundi, and most of Zambia.[3]
The scientific name of the yellow-backed duiker is Cephalophus silvicultor. It is the type species of Cephalophus, and placed in the subfamily Cephalophinae and family Bovidae. The species was first described by English botanist Adam Afzelius in the journal Nova Acta Regiæ Societatis Scientiarum Upsaliensis in 1815.[4] The generic name has possibly originated from the combination of the New Latin word cephal, meaning head, and the Greek word lophos, meaning crest.[5] The specific name silvicultor is composed by two Latin words: silva, meaning wood, and cultus, which relates to cultivation. This refers to its habitat.[3]
In 1981, Colin Groves and Peter Grubb identified three subgenera of Cephalophus : Cephalophula, Cephalpia and Cephalophus. They classified C. silvicultor under the third subgenus along with C. spadix (Abbott's duiker), C. dorsalis (bay duiker) and C. jentinki (Jentink's duiker). This subgenus is characterized by minimal sexual dimorphism and spotted coats (of juveniles). C. silvicultor forms a superspecies with C. spadix.[6]
Four subspecies are recognised:[7]
Yellow-backed duikers have a convex body shape, standing taller at the rump than the shoulders. They have very short horns, 8.5 to 21 cm (3.3 to 8.3 in) in length,[8] which are cylindrical and ribbed at the base.[3] An orange crest of hair can be found between their horns.[9] Yellow-backed duikers get their name from the characteristic patch of yellow hairs on their rump, which stand when the duiker is alarmed or feels threatened. Yellow-backed duiker females often grow to be slightly larger than males.[3] Coloration is very similar between sexes and very little sexual dimorphism exists.[9] The head-and-body length is 115 to 145 cm (45 to 57 in), with a short tail measuring 11 to 18 cm (4.3 to 7.1 in).[8] The yellow-backed duiker weighs in at about 60–80 kg, making it the largest of its genus. It has a large mouth, throat and jaw musculature.[10]
Yellow-backed duikers are mainly forest dwelling and live in semi-deciduous forests, rain forests, riparian forests, and montane forests. However, they can be found in open bush, isolated forest islands, and clearings on the savanna as well.[3] Their convex body shape is well-suited for forest living. It allows for quick movement through thick forest and bush and is reflective of ungulates accustomed to diving quickly into the underbrush for cover.[3] In fact, duiker is the Afrikaans word for "diver."[11]
Duikers are very flighty and easily stressed, and when frightened or pursued will run almost blindly from a threat. At the Los Angeles Zoo, duikers were found to run headlong into the glass of their enclosures if startled. In captivity, duikers have been known to form stress-induced jaw abscesses.[11]
Yellow-backed duikers are active at all times of the day and night.[10] They live mainly solitarily or in couples, rarely in even small herds.[3] Their elusive habits mean that very little is known about their ecology and demography compared to other ungulates.[12]
The yellow-backed duiker can breed throughout the year, with many breeding two times each year.[8] The female gives birth to one oro (two offspring after a gestation period of 4 to 7 months). The calf remains hidden during the first week of life and is weaned at 3 to 5 months after birth. Sexual maturity happens at 12 to 18 months in the male, and at 9 to 12 months in the female.[8]
The lifespan is 10 to 12 years in the wild, while 22.5 years in the captivity.[8]
These forest dwelling antelope feed selectively on plants or plant parts such as shoots, roots, leaves, and buds, but their diet is mainly made up of fruits.[3] The yellow-backed duiker is more efficient at digesting poor quality food than most other duiker species. This allows them to eat large, low quality fruits.[10] Their diet makes them very hard to keep in captivity as most domesticated fruits are not well suited to their low fiber requirements. They are considered concentrate selectors, meaning they eat "diets relatively low in fiber, have a well developed ability to forage selectively, a rumen bypass, a rapid passage and high fermentation rate for starch, and they frequently encounter toxins."[11]
Yellow-backed duikers are one of the few antelopes that can eat meat. Occasionally, these forest antelopes will kill and eat small animals, such as birds.
Duikers are very primitive antelope which diverged early in bovid history.[9] The genus Cephalophus contains 16 African bovids of which the yellow-backed duiker is the largest.[9] Cephalophus refers to the long crest of hair found between their horns.[11] The yellow-backed duiker is most closely related to the Abbot's duiker and the Jentink's duiker. These three form the large or "giant" duikers group.[9] The yellow-backed duiker belongs to a group of morphologically, ecologically, and behaviorally convergent mammals which also includes some artiodactyls, rodents, and lagomorphs which exhibit "microcursorial adaptive syndrome."[3] This means they have tropical to subtropical distribution along with small body size, swift, cursorial locomotion, browse on high energy food, have precocial young, and a "facultatively monogamous social structure."[3]
Duikers are the most heavily hunted species across forested West and Central Africa.[12] It is not only a vital food source for people living close to its habitats [12] but a vital source of income as well.[10] The animal's flighty, easy-to-scare nature causes the yellow-backed duiker to freeze up in torchlight which makes them very easy to hunt at night. When the animal is stunned by torchlight, hunters can almost walk right up to it.[10] This puts the yellow-backed duiker and its relatives at major risk for overhunting. Some scientists even project that by the year 2020 they may be at serious risk.[12] IUCN currently puts the yellow-backed duiker's status at near threatened but if current trends continue, "the yellow-backed duiker's distribution will become increasingly fragmented and its status will eventually become threatened."[1] It is thought that the yellow-backed duiker may already be locally extinct in the Oban Sector of the Cross River National Park in the Oban Hills Region of Nigeria.[12] The loss of this species may have many impacts due to the yellow-backed duiker's numerous ecological responsibilities. They not only make up a main source of food for many indigenous peoples, but they also act as seed dispersing agents for various plants, and prey items for many carnivores.[12]
The yellow-backed duiker (Cephalophus silvicultor) is a shy, forest-dwelling antelope of the order Artiodactyla, from the family Bovidae. Yellow-backed duikers are the most widely-distributed of all duikers. They are found mainly in Central and Western Africa, ranging from Senegal and Gambia on the western coast, through to the Democratic Republic of the Congo to western Uganda; their distribution continues southward into Rwanda, Burundi, and most of Zambia.
