THE RED DUIKER IN THE HAWAAN FOREST RESERVE
by Guy Nicolson (MSc.Prof.Sci.Nat.)
Residents may have been lucky enough to see the Red Duiker (Cephalophus natalensis) within, or on the fringes of, the Hawaan Forest, and sometimes even within the open grassy areas between the forest and the homes in the estate. It is one of the three forest type antelope’s residents in the forest, the other two being the Blue Duiker and Bushbuck. The purpose of this article is to tell you something about it, and then suggest what the implications are of its presence from the perspectives of its conservation and the related application of the appropriate environmental management measures that the residents of the estate could also contribute towards. It is written in my capacity as one of the Trustees of the Hawaan Forest Conservation Trust, and also as the environmental consultant who undertook the original environmental impact assessment leading to the establishment of the Hawaan Forest Estate in 2003, and who has been involved in the management of the forest since then.
Habitat and biology
The Red Duiker is more diurnal (out and about in the day) and less secretive than most other duiker, and therefore generally easier to see. Its distribution in the province is very coastal, and it favours dense bush and forest for its habitat. Red Duiker browse on leaves, flowers and fruits that have fallen from trees as well as low-growing shrubs. This usually occurs in daylight, although in heavily disturbed areas they may become nocturnal. They are concentrate feeders, as they do not have the ability to digest fiber well. The males in particular may be territorial, and they often mark their territory by using a substance secreted from a gland between the upper jaw and eyes. A duiker will practice this scent marking by rubbing its face on grass, twigs, bark or other surfaces to indicate its territorial boundaries, and I have seen males chase each other from their territories.
Red Duiker are by far the most beautiful forest antelope, being an attractive, reddish brown color. See the photographs below, taken by camera traps established within the Hawaan Forest by the Hawaan Forest. They have a body length of up to about 1m, a typical shoulder height of 43cm and an average mass of 14kg. Both sexes have short, straight horns about 6cm long, although in females they may be a bit shorter, while a further notable characteristic is its hunched back, with front legs shorter than the hind legs. These longer hind legs are in a crouched position, which serves as an advantage when the duiker senses danger and needs to flee, by allowing the individual to dive quickly into a nearby dense bush, hence the name “duiker”.
Present Conservation efforts
Considerable efforts are made by the Hawaan Conservation Trust to protect the wildlife in the Hawaan Forest through the removal of snares, regular patrols and the camera traps which, besides recording wildlife, also pick up the movement of illegal intruders. The presence of this population of Red Duiker adds value to the conservation significance of the Hawaan Forest, and part of the management objectives for the forest are to implement those practices which permit this population to thrive. Another way which Duiker conservation is achieved within the Hawaan Forest is from the appropriate management of forest ecotone. A forest ecotone (or forest edge) _is the interface of two types of habitats, in this case grassland and forest which supports a good supply of accessible browse and fruit for the Red Duiker. The control of all other antelope populations, in particular the ubiquitous and abundant Bushbuck, to prevent overpopulation and over-exploitation of the available forage, is also a desirable objective.
Past conservation efforts
A personal experience of process of human-related habitat loss of Red Duiker occurred when I was a BSc. Honours student in the 1970’s where my research topic was the ecology and behaviour of the Red Duiker. During my year of study, I was involved with the Natal Parks Board in the capture and translocation of Red Duiker to the Stainbank Nature Reserve from what is now the Durban coastal suburb of La Lucia. This was in advance of the clearing of these forested areas for the now existing residential homes. This raised the question in my mind at the time as to whether there were better ways to integrate natural and urban areas, such as in the present “eco-estates” that do better reconciling these competing needs of homes and conservation than “normal” urban development. The Hawaan Forest Estate provides a good, successful example, both within the estate, and in its ownership and custodianship of the Hawaan Forest.
Future conservation efforts
Looking more widely, and as mentioned above, the fragmentated nature of its previously contiguous coastal forest offers opportunities for the translocation of some to other areas where they could, but do not presently exist, for example other coastal eco-estates where they have been eliminated by such factors as hunting, or where there has been a re-establishment of coastal forest from previous monoculture types agriculture such as sugar cane farming and gum plantations. An example of such an eco-estate presently lacking Red Duiker populations is Zimbali Coastal Estate.
The extension of the ownership and related management of the greater rest of the forest that the portion owned by Hawaan Estates Property Owners Association is contiguous with would enhance the dual objectives of protecting the wildlife, and would also enhance security, which is another important consideration. The present initiatives of the Hawaan Estate’s Homeowners Association to achieve this objective of a single, integrated management plan for the whole of the forest through the appropriate agreements with other stakeholders is therefore fully supported also by the Hawaan Forest Conservation Trust.
Red Duiker are found more widely in the more coastal eastern regions of Africa, and in South Africa are restricted to coastal regions of KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga, with the largest populations occurring in the iSiMangaliso Wetland Park. These coastal areas in the province have been the most extensively transformed by agriculture and settlements, this has led to the existing populations of Red Duiker being fragmented and isolated.
Not only does this provide the potential establishment of more populations enhance its overall viability but also, in the future, it offers opportunities for facilitating for interbreeding between otherwise isolated populations, thereby increasing or maintaining the desired genetic viability in these populations. This is therefore something warranting consideration, in collaboration with the relevant conservation authorities, in this case Ezemvelo KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife, and within whom the Hawaan Conservation Trust has established a constructive working relationship.
I trust that what has been provided in this article does provide more informed understanding by the residents of the estate of the nature of the Red Duiker within their forest, and some of the current promising initiatives to foster its further conservation, and within which their support would be greatly appreciated by the Hawaan Conservation Trust.