Common duiker
Sylvicapra grimmia (Linnaeus, 1758)
The common duiker (Sylvicapra grimmia), also called the gray duiker, bush duiker, grey duiker or Grimm's duiker, is a mammal in the family Bovidae, subfamily Antilopinae and tribe Cephalophini. It is a medium-sized, terrestrial, nocturnal herbivore with an adult body mass of 19.5 kg.
Quick facts about the common duiker
Its lifespan is 14.33 years, up to 15.4 years, and the IUCN Red List classifies it as Least Concern, which is not a threatened category.
- Weight
- 18.5 kg – 19.5 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 14.3 years – 15.4 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Herbivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Gestation
- 165 days – 228 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 1src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 8.38 months – 9.63 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1.4src for Litters or clutches a year
- Active
- At night (nocturnal)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the common duiker
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the common duiker live?
Not recorded
What is the common duiker?
The common duiker (Sylvicapra grimmia), also known as the gray duiker or bush duiker, is a small antelope and the only member of the genus Sylvicapra. This species is found everywhere in Africa south of the Sahara, excluding the Horn of Africa and the rainforests of the central and western parts of the continent. Generally, they are found in habitats with sufficient vegetation cover to allow them to hide—savannah and hilly areas, including the fringes of human settlements.
From the Wikipedia article “Common duiker” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Common_duiker&oldid=1368692685), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the common duiker endangered?
The common duiker is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the common duiker classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderArtiodactyla
- familyBovidae
- genusSylvicapra
- SpeciesSylvicapra grimmia (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms Capra grimmia
Other names and names in other languages (58)
- Bush duikerEnglish
- Bush duikerEnglish
- Gray duikerEnglish
- Gray duikerEnglish
- Grey duikerEnglish
- Grey duikerEnglish
- Grimm's duikerEnglish
- GrysduikerAfrikaans
- Gewone DuikerAfrikaans
- ሚዳቋAmharic
- ديكر شائعArabic
- ديكر الأدغالArabic
- ديكر رماديArabic
- duiker de GrimmAsturian
- Kolluq dukeriAzerbaijani
- Duiquer comúCatalan
- chocholatka schovávanáCzech
- DykkerantilopeDanish
- KronenduckerGerman
- Gemeiner KronenduckerGerman
- AmuɔŋlualDinka
- Κοινό ΝτούικερGreek
- Duiker GrisSpanish
- Duiker común o duiker grisSpanish
- savannipuikkijaFinnish
- GrimminsukeltajakaurisFinnish
- Céphalophe du CapFrench
- Céphalophe de GrimmFrench
- Le Cephalophe du CapFrench
- GadaHausa
- pusztai bóbitásantilopHungarian
- Dik-dikItalian
- Cefalofo comuneItalian
- Cefalofo grigioItalian
- SilvicapraItalian
- サバンナダイカーJapanese
- 다이커영양Korean
- Hodíłchʼiltah bįįh nanitʼiníNavajo
- GråduikerNorwegian Bokmål
- BuskduikerNorwegian Bokmål
- Duiker-bokDutch
- GrymPolish
- grym szaryPolish
- ڈوئکرWestern Panjabi
- Cabrito-cinzentoPortuguese
- Sylvicapra grimmiaPortuguese
- Обыкновенный дукерRussian
- Кустарниковый дукерRussian
- PhuthiSouthern Sotho
- ImphunziSwati
- GrådykareSwedish
- photiTswana
- PhutiTswana
- mHutiTsonga
- MhuntiTsonga
- ImpunziXhosa
- 灰小羚羊Chinese
- mPunziZulu
Relatives of the common duiker
Other species in the same genus Sylvicapra.
Crowned duiker
Sylvicapra coronata
Sahel duiker
Sylvicapra pallidior
CompareCommon duiker vs Crowned duikerCommon duiker vs Sahel duiker
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the common duiker?
The common duiker is a mammal in the family Bovidae and the order Artiodactyla. It belongs to the subfamily Antilopinae and the tribe Cephalophini.
How heavy is a common duiker?
An adult common duiker has a body mass of 19.5 kg, which places it in the medium size class.
What does the common duiker eat?
The common duiker is a herbivore.
How long does a common duiker live?
The common duiker has a lifespan of 14.33 years, with values up to 15.4 years reported.
How many young does a common duiker have?
The common duiker has 1 young per litter and 1.4 litters per year. Gestation lasts 165 days.
When does a common duiker reach sexual maturity?
The common duiker reaches sexual maturity at 274.1 days, with reported values from 255 to 293.1 days.
Who named the common duiker?
The scientific name Sylvicapra grimmia is credited to (Linnaeus, 1758).
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals · CC0 1.0 · 1.0
Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Common duiker (Sylvicapra grimmia). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-duiker
“Common duiker (Sylvicapra grimmia).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-duiker.
@misc{common_duiker_2026,
title = {Common duiker (Sylvicapra grimmia)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-duiker},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}