The blue duiker is a small herbivorous antelope which can be found in the dense coastal forests of western, southern, and eastern Africa. Due to the blue duiker’s elusive nature, accurate population estimates are challenging to obtain.
All over its habitat, this species is heavily hunted for its bushmeat. Philantomba, the strongest linage of the subfamily Cephalophinidae, is thought to be the oldest and to have diverged first.
Duiker is an Afrikaans name meaning “diver” or “diving buck,” characterising their behaviour of plunging into undergrowth and fleeing into the bush when frightened or alarmed; the blue alludes to the hue of their hair, which appears blue under the forest shade.
The blue duiker has the smallest body size of any antelope in South Africa, measuring between 55 and 80 centimetres (320 to 410 millimetres) in length and standing just 13 to 16 millimetres (mm) at the shoulder.
The average male weighs about 4 kilogrammes, whereas a girl averages about 4.7 kg. Males and females alike have a tail that measures 10 centimetres in length and short, pointed horns that are 5 centimetres in length (but the horns in females are hidden by their short hair).
They have a little ridge over their eyes that curls up to the base of their horns, and a slit of glands just below their eyes. Their outer coat is a dark blue-grey, while their white underbelly, inner legs, and tail rump set them apart.
The blue duiker is most active when the sun rises and sets; they begin moving around when monkeys and birds awake and spend the middle of the day resting and thinking. Jumping and walking on all fours are two modes of transportation used by blue duikers.
Because of their modest size, they tend to stay in one place. Each member of the bonded couple takes turns patrolling and guarding the 2.5–4.0-hectare territory, and any intruders will be driven away.
The blue duiker is successful in a variety of woodland environments, from virgin to secondary woods, gallery forests, dry forest areas, coastal scrub, and even farmlands. The blue duiker population in South Africa prefers to live in areas of coastal forest, thick coastal bushes, and thicket because these provide permanent cover from predators.
The blue duiker is successful in a variety of woodland environments, from virgin to secondary woods, gallery forests, dry forest areas, coastal scrub, and even farmlands.
The blue duiker population in South Africa prefers to live in areas of coastal forest, thick coastal bushes, and thicket because these provide permanent cover from predators.
Patience is a virtue when hunting blue duiker in South Africa. Most of their time is spent concealed, usually in dense bushes. They rarely move or create noise that would give their whereabouts away.
The blue duiker will quickly put on the brakes and take off if they are spooked. The hunter will have a very small window of opportunity to fire, as the blue duiker will only be visible for a fraction of a second.
When it comes to hunting blue duiker in Africa, a shotgun is your best bet, specifically one of the smaller gauges like as a 20 gauge or .410. Any expanding bullet will ruin the duiker’s hide, so a rifle is out. A lack of time means the hunter must take the first available shot. In South Africa’s Eastern Cape, dogs are used in the hunt for blue duikers.
The hunter will wait in a hiding spot in a brushy corridor until the duiker comes charging towards the hounds, and then the dogs will be let loose on the animal.
In Africa, the blue duiker can be shot from a distance of 20 to 30 yards. The blue duiker is not in risk of extinction because it is abundant in its native range of west central Africa. To sum up, your odds of successfully hunting a blue duiker in Africa are quite high.
Because of its rarity and membership of the Tiny Ten, blue duiker hunting is considered a specialized subset of small-game hunting. Hunt24 is the best place to go if you’re an experienced hunter trying to add to your collection of blue duikers, which is more of a collector’s item than anything else.
When it comes to hunting blue duiker, we have only the finest locations available, and our expert hunters have years of experience tracking down these elusive forest lords. The Eastern Cape is home to blue duiker, where we conduct the majority of our Blue Duiker hunts.
