Duiker hunting in South Africa

Hunting the Duikers can be quite a challenging hunt. Two Forest Duikers and one Bush Duiker can be hunted in South Africa. Three Bush Duiker also known as the Common, Grey or Grimm's Bush Duiker can be hunted country-wide in South Africa but the Forest Duikers are very site-specific. All the Bush Duikers look very similar with some colour variations in the different areas of the country, they range from grey to brownish in colour. The two most commonly hunted subspecies are the Southern (occurs from the Cape to the Limpopo Province)s and South African Bush Duiker (found in Eastern South Africa) and the third is Steinhardt's Bush Duiker (found in the Kalahari region). These animals are normally hunted more as a trophy of opportunity and are often included in numerous packages. Only males have horns and any male with horns as long as the ear is a good trophy. The first of two Forest Duikers, the Blue Duiker is split into two subspecies but is of similar colouration. In the forests of the Eastern and Western Cape, you find the Common or Cape Blue Duiker. In KwaZulu-Natal when hunting the coastal forest you would be hunting the Southern or Zulu Blue Duiker. The Natal Red Duiker or Red Forest Duiker can be hunted in northern KwaZulu-Natal where it occurs along the Indian Ocean coastline inland in the Zululand region and is also found in the Soutpansberg Mountain range of the northern Limpopo Province. Both males and females have horns. Blue Duikers are hunted using flushing dogs and a shotgun whilst Red Duikers are normally hunted with a big calibre rifle using a solid to shoot through the thick undergrowth and not ruin the skin. The Red Duiker does respond to a call. Of the two species the Common and Red Duiker are classified by the IUCN as species of least concern. The Blue Duiker is a CITES II animal and also requires a Threatened or Protected Species (TOPS) permit to be prearranged before the hunt.