Yellow-backed duiker
Cephalophus silvicultor (Afzelius, 1815)
The yellow-backed duiker (Cephalophus silvicultor) is a species in the family Bovidae, order Artiodactyla. Recorded adults weigh 62 kg to 72.5 kg and live up to 22.5 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Near Threatened.

Quick facts about the yellow-backed duiker
- Weight
- 62 kg – 72.5 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 22.5 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Herbivoresrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 22.5 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Gestation
- 165 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 1src for Young per litter or clutch
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Active
- At night (nocturnal)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Near Threatened (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Where does the yellow-backed duiker live?
Not recorded
What is the yellow-backed duiker?
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.
From the Wikipedia article “Yellow-backed duiker” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Yellow-backed_duiker&oldid=1384477230), 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 yellow-backed duiker endangered?
The yellow-backed duiker is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List: it is close to qualifying as threatened.
- 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 Near Threatened species. What the categories mean.
How is the yellow-backed duiker classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderArtiodactyla
- familyBovidae
- genusCephalophus
- SpeciesCephalophus silvicultor (Afzelius, 1815)
Synonyms Antilope silvicultor
Other names and names in other languages (24)
- Light-backed duikerEnglish
- Ligit-backed duikerEnglish
- Western yellow-backed duikerEnglish
- Western yellow-backed duikerEnglish
- ديكر أصفر الظهرArabic
- ديكور فاتح الظهرArabic
- chocholatka žlutohřbetáCzech
- Gulrygget dykkerantilopeDanish
- RiesenduckerGerman
- GelbrückenduckerGerman
- Duiquero de Lomo AmarilloSpanish
- keltaselkäpuikkijaFinnish
- Céphalophe géantFrench
- Céphalophe à dos jauneFrench
- Sárgahátú bóbitásantilopHungarian
- Cefalofo dal dorso gialloItalian
- コシキダイカーJapanese
- 노란등다이커Korean
- GulryggduikerNorwegian Bokmål
- GeelrugduikerDutch
- dujker żółtopręgiPolish
- MuntumPortuguese
- Желтоспинный дукерRussian
- 黃背麂羚Chinese
Relatives of the yellow-backed duiker
Other species in the same genus Cephalophus.

Red forest duiker
Cephalophus natalensis

Bay duiker
Cephalophus dorsalis

Red-flanked duiker
Cephalophus rufilatus

Jentink's duiker
Cephalophus jentinki

Black duiker
Cephalophus niger

Black-fronted duiker
Cephalophus nigrifrons
CompareYellow-backed duiker vs Red forest duikerYellow-backed duiker vs Bay duikerYellow-backed duiker vs Red-flanked duikerYellow-backed duiker vs Jentink's duiker
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the yellow-backed duiker?
An adult yellow-backed duiker weighs 62 kg – 72.5 kg, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the yellow-backed duiker endangered?
The yellow-backed duiker is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is close to qualifying as threatened.
How long does the yellow-backed duiker live?
The yellow-backed duiker has a recorded lifespan of 22.5 years.
How long is the yellow-backed duiker pregnant?
The recorded gestation period is 165 days.
What kind of animal is the yellow-backed duiker?
The yellow-backed duiker (Cephalophus silvicultor) belongs to the family Bovidae in the order Artiodactyla.
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). Yellow-backed duiker (Cephalophus silvicultor). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/yellow-backed-duiker
“Yellow-backed duiker (Cephalophus silvicultor).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/yellow-backed-duiker.
@misc{yellow_backed_duiker_2026,
title = {Yellow-backed duiker (Cephalophus silvicultor)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/yellow-backed-duiker},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}