A "duiker" is a small to medium-sized antelope native to Sub-Saharan Africa. The 22 extant species form the subfamily "Cephalophinae". The name comes from the Dutch word for "diver", which refers to their practice of diving into tangles of shrubbery. Duikers are split into two groups based on their habitat: forest and bush duikers. All forest species inhabit the rainforests of Sub-Saharan Africa, while the only known bush duiker, grey common duiker occupies savannas. Duikers are very shy, elusive creatures with a fondness for dense cover; those that tend to live in more open areas, for example, are quick to disappear into thickets for protection. Because of their rarity and interspersed population, not much is known about duikers; thus, further generalizations are widely based on the most commonly studied red forest, blue, yellow-backed and the common grey duiker. In tropical rainforest zones of Africa, people non-selectively hunt duikers for their fur, meat, and horns at highly unsustainable rates. Population trends for all species of duikers, excluding the common duiker and the smallest blue duiker, are significantly decreasing; Aders' and particularly the larger duiker species such as the Jentink’s and Abbott’s duikers, are now considered endangered by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . Duikers range from the 3 kilogram blue duiker to the 70 kilogram yellow-backed duiker. With their body low to the ground and with very short horns, forest duikers are built to navigate effectively through dense rainforests and quickly dive into bushes when threatened. Since the common grey duiker lives in more open areas, like savannas, it has longer legs and vertical horns, which allows it to run faster and for longer distances; only the males, who are more confrontational and territorial, exhibit horns. Also, duikers have well-developed preorbital glands, which resemble slits under their eyes, or in the cases of blue duikers, pedal glands on their hooves. Males use secretions from these glands to mark their territory. Wiz Science™ is "the" learning channel for children and all ages. SUBSCRIBE TODAY Disclaimer: This video is for your information only. The author or publisher does not guarantee the accuracy of the content presented in this video. USE AT YOUR OWN RISK. Background Music: "The Place Inside" by Silent Partner (royalty-free) from YouTube Audio Library. This video uses material/images from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duiker, which is released under Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ . This video is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ . To reuse/adapt the content in your own work, you must comply with the license terms.

• published: 04 Sep 2015
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